Abasi Ita, Calabar
The Cross River State Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party PDP, Barrister Vena Ikem has tasked Governor Ben Ayade’s Chief Press Secretary and Special Adviser Media,Christian Ita Esq to furnish Cross Riverians with the commissioning dates of Ayade’s numerous projects rather than assaulting the sensibilities of the people with blatant lies regarding such audio achievements
Ikem, who was reacting during a media chat to recent statement stating that Ayade has laid a solid foundation for the industrialization of the state with the Deep Sea Port and Super Highway in advance stages of completion said “the penchant for lies demonstrated by the present administration in Cross River State is unprecedented ”
He averred that the top hierarchy of the Ayade led administration needs medical examinations over their stunning ability to churn out lies even on national television without remorse or shame even in the face of obvious realities on ground
“We would request for a project tour of the various industries or infrastructures they are bragging about .Are they talking about the superhighway concieved as a smoke screen to deplete our rainforests for their personal pockets,even after spending billion of naira in clearing?
Or could it be the Deep Sea Port used as a subhead to frittered away our billions of naira in the name of mobilization fees to pseudo companies? The so called Ogoja Rice distributed in lieu of Senate election in Cross River North were bought from market and repackaged. Which industry is up and running please?
Even the roads constructed by their companies are collapsing before official commissioning. The spaghetti flyover at Odukpani Junction, causing nightmares to motorists is still ongoing after six years. The list is endless
“It’s quite obvious that this awful stuff is a medical condition. There is no normal or right thinking human being that can be lying this way from the onset of the administration to the very end. There is something wrong somewhere”
In his words” if the CPS,Christian Ita has negated the tenets of the journalism profession by joining his principal on the lying spree, let him be mindful that he is now a lawyer, duly called the the Bar of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, in the legal profession, such excesses are not tolerated. You can’t ridicule the legal profession in the name of protecting your “food on the table”
He enjoined the Nigeria Union of Journalists NUJ to introduce check and balance mechanism aimed at ensuring that press releases or statements from certain government houses are verify before publication to avoid misleading the public.
” It is embarrassing that some media houses have sacrificed integrity by becoming a willing tool in the hands of the Ayade led administration to misinform and misled our people just to stay afloat, Guardian Newspaper should be weary of joining the list to avoid losing their hard earned credibility .The quest for survival or mercantile tendencies must not erode the credibility of the press
Meanwhile, analysts are of the views that the abysmal performance of Governor Ben Ayade is a big setback to the candidature of Senator Prince Bassey Otu of All Progressives Congress APC, thus compelling the party to adopt the
“Back To South”ethnic mantra as its governorship campaign anthem around the state.
