Edidem Ekpo Otu, Obong of
Calabar, has asked Ben Ayade, governor of Cross River state, to step aside,
Daily Trust is reporting.
According to the newspaper, the
prominent traditional ruler blamed Ayade for the vandalism, looting and
destruction of public and private property in the state last week.
He reportedly said the governor
needs to step aside to enable an interim administration come up so that he can
learn governance.
The Obong spoke when Liyel Imoke,
a former governor of the state, paid homage to him.
“He (Ayade) has not been holding security
meeting regularly. This thing would not have happened if he had called the
security people together after hearing what happened in Lagos and other places;
If he had called them together and tell them, look my friends; nothing should
happen in my state,” he said.
“The Governor should be able to
open his door for people to come in, and should work with everybody. We have to
face it; we don’t need to play around with it; we cannot continue this way. You
tell him that there is a need for total reconciliation; a total rehabilitation
of whatever he has been doing.
“Everybody matters in this state.
He should be able to talk to people. He wouldn’t call you and even when you
call him, he doesn’t answer the call. Nobody talks to him.”
Speaking earlier, Imoke told the
Obong that he thought it wise to seek the help and cooperation of the
traditional institution in finding a way out of the problem.
He said he was directly affected
by the crisis which trailed the #EndSARS protests between October 23 and
October 24.
The former governor’s wife,
Obioma, lost items in her shop, which was vandalised by suspected hoodlums.
“We came to get some advice from
you before we even set out to look for solutions, to ensure that never happens
again in Cross River State,” he told the monarch.
“We need your guidance as we go about looking
for solutions to the challenge of young people who are unemployed and have
grievances; young people who think they don’t have the opportunities others
have had.
“We do not understand the extent
of the carnage. We are all victims of this incident. If you were not hit
directly, you were hit indirectly. For me, I was hit directly. So were very
many public officials. They were also hit directly.”
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