Ex-aide faults Gov Ayade’s 1,106 new appointments, says it’s not viable

Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade’s former Special Adviser on Strategy and National Contact, Mr. Ray Ugba-Morphy, has described as unnecessary the governor’s appointments of 1,106 new officers into different offices

Governor Ayade, had on Tuesday, regardless of the economic woes ravaging the country and which have seen many state government including Cross River State struggling to pay salaries of workers, appointed 1,106 persons into various positions.

Disclosing this in a statement issued by his Senior Special Assistant on Media and Chief Press Secretary, Mr. Christian Ita, Governor Ayade claimed the appointments would take effect from November 1, 2016.

The appointments when broken-down, shows that 799 were employed into various boards, commissions and agencies, while the remaining 307 appointees were regarded as six special advisers, 30 senior special advisers, 75 special assistants and 25 Personal Assistants.

There are also 16 personal assistants to paramount rulers, 90 representatives of each local government in the state food bank unit, 21 liaison officers for the 18 local government area and three senatorial districts, 18 special assistants on religious affairs and 26 permanent secretaries.

Read also: Recession forces Cross River to slash 2016 budget by N44bn

However, reacting on the development, Ugba-Morphy, who resigned from Ayade’s cabinet, contended that it was not viable, and unnecessary considering the fact that the governor was yet to properly settle those already appointed.

“He is a governor who understands all the appointments that he is making. But considering the lean purse of the state, it is not necessary because those already appointed have not been properly settled.

“The wages of political appointees are fixed by the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission as stipulated by the law, but he (Ayade) has not met those requirements. It is right if the appointments are meant to settle political scores, but economically, it is not viable. He should create opportunity for people to have skills to earn a living,” he argued.

By Ebere Ndukwu …

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