Ben Ayade never ceases to amaze me. He is a typical Nigerian politician. He began his tenure by filibustering with grammatic grandiloquence.

Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State on Thursday “ordered” the recruitment of 20,000 people into the State and Local Government Service.
CrossRiverWatch takes a look at some of the times he directed or “ordered” recruitments since his assumption of office as Governor on May 29, 2015 for his first term and four years later in 2019 for a second term in office.

1. The first pronouncement of employment made by Governor Ayade after taking office was the approval for the Cross River State Universal Basic Education Board SUBEB, to recruit 1000 teachers. They were recruited, worked for over a year without pay and later sacked. However, some have been re-engaged.

2. In August 2015, he announced that he will employ 1,500 people into the Green Police later renamed Green Sheriff with an incorruptible salary of N150,000. Thousands queued at the U.J Esuene stadium and at the end, he selected about 12 people whose salary has remained irregular.

3. In 2016, Governor Ayade also approved recruitment into the Cross River Water Board. No one got recruited.

4. In November 2016, the State announced that it has commenced recruitment of 3,000 people into the State’s homeland security outfit. A statement said, the state was partnering with the Nigerian Police Force. Till date, no one has been employed.

5. February 2018 – During a senatorial mega rally at Calabar Municipal grounds where he was endorsed by the People’s Democratic Party for re-election, he announced the creation of 3,000 jobs. No one was employed.

6. February 23, 2018 – Ayade announced at the sports stadium in Ikom that he will employ 3,000 youths in central Cross River state following a senatorial endorsement for re-election. No one got recruited.

7. February 24, 2018 – The Governor announced another plan to employ 3,000 people from northern Cross River at what was termed a ‘grand reception’ but was an endorsement campaign. Again, no advertisement for recruitment was seen and that passed.

8. In April 2018, a statement directed that interested applicants for the Rice city should forward their applications to the commerce and industry ministry. No one ever sat at the address stated to receive applications. No one knows how the about three dozen staff were ever recruited.

9. October 25, 2018 – Governor Ayade offered automatic employment to all graduates of civil engineering in Cross River. That was the biggest lie of that year. The promise fizzled out just immediately after it was vomited.

10. On January 1, 2019 – The primary health care agency began the process of recruiting 1,000 health workers.
The exercise was concluded in May 2019 and despite the shortlisted candidates forwarded to the Head of Service, nothing has been heard of the exercise.

11. June 21, 2019 – A statement from the ministry of information said a recruitment exercise for the state owned noodles factory had commenced immediately. Applicants were asked to visit the factory and after days of trying and no one to respond to them, that exercise died a natural death.

12. March 2019 – Governor Ayade promised employment to polling unit agents of the PDP if they were of “good behaviour.” There is no record that this was carried out.

13. March 2019 – Again, Mr. Ayade promised employment to best graduating nurses from the Cross River State College of Health Technology.
None has been employed since then.

14. In January 2020, the state announced that it will employ about a dozen tractor and bulldozer drivers. No recruitment was ever carried out and the press release by Commissioner Asu Okang said there is no deadline for submission of applications.

15. April 14, 2020 – Governor Ayade announced that the State will employ 8,000 people to be paid a minimum wage of NGN30,000.
The number was split as follows; Agriculture- 5,000, Environment- 1,000, Security- 2,000 and Health – 1,000 comprising of 400 doctors and 600 nurses. Till date, none was employed and those who got engaged at the Garment Factory were later disengaged after 3 months.

16. October 22, 2020 – Governor Ayade orders the employment of 20,000 people. According to him, all the 18 Local Government Chairmen and Chairpersons are to employ 1,000 people each into the Local Government Service while the State will employ 2,000. It is unclear whether this will work out especially after he complained in September that the State was struggling to pay salaries while addressing the nearly 3,000 civil and public servants he ordered the delisting of their names from the payroll.

Source: https://crossriverwatch.com/2020/10/16-times-ayade-has-ordered-recruitment-and-once-it-worked/

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