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Tag: Cross River State

  • PDP rejects Cross River LG election results, heads to court

    PDP rejects Cross River LG election results, heads to court

    The Cross River chapter of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) says the local government elections conducted on Saturday in the state fell short of every standard to be called an election.

    The party subsequently rejected the results and said it will challenge the outcome in a competent court of law.

    This is contained in a statement issued by the PDP Chairman in the state, Mr Venatius Ikem in Calabar on Monday.

    Ikem described what transpired to be a well-orchestrated rigging plan which include the diversion of election materials, late arrival of insufficient ballot papers without standard serial numbers, and result sheets.

    He noted that at most of the polling units, CROSIEC official stamps were not provided for the Presiding Officers to stamp the ballot papers after appending their signatures for authentication as required by law.

    “From inception, the processes were skewed to favour the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the composition of the electoral umpire.

    “We obviously underrated the charade that the electoral umpire was cooking in the name of the local government election witnessed on Saturday, November 2.

    “In Calabar South, Municipality, Obudu, Abi, Obubra in particular, election materials, meant for the entire local governments, were diverted to the houses of APC stalwarts where thumb printings were brazenly carried out.

    “For instance, In Obudu no single election material was issued to anyone except the APC that took custody and carted them away to the Military School in Bedia.

    “At this location soldiers cordoned off every one except APC members ostensibly on the orders of a serving army General from the area who is an elder brother of the APC candidate.

    “Again, in Obanlikwu and Bekwarra local government areas where ballot papers were distributed no single results sheets accompanied them and results were written on ordinary papers,” he stated.

    The PDP Chairman attributed these “shenanigans” to the poor performance of the APC both at the federal and state levels.

    According to him, this instilled palpable fears amongst members of the ruling party and made them to be scared of a free and fair contest to avoid embarrassment from the electorate.

    “Accordingly, we reject any result emanating from the purported election because, as far as we are concerned, there was nothing like a local government election in Cross River.

    “We state boldy that never in the political history of Cross River  have electorate witnessed this kind of monumental electoral fraud perpetrated on Saturday.

    “We urge all our members to remain calm and peaceful as the party shall pursue the outcome in a competent court of law,” he declared.

    Recall that the state electoral umpire had absolved itself of any blame on what transpired on the field on Saturday.

    The Chairman, Dr Ekong Boco had blamed the political parties for the lapses and stated that the commission did all it could to ensure a successful exercise.

    The commission had on Sunday declared APC as the winner of  all the available 18 Chairmanship seats as well as the 196 councillorship seats across the 18 council areas.

  • APC sweeps Cross River, Nasarawa LG elections

    APC sweeps Cross River, Nasarawa LG elections

    The Nasarawa State Independent Electoral Commission (NASIEC) has declared the 13 chairmanship candidates of All Progressives Congress (APC) as winners of the Nov. 2 local government election in the State.

    Mr Ayuba Wandai, Chairman of the commission and Returning Officer, made the declaration on Sunday at the commission’s office in Lafia. Wandai also declared that the councillorship candidates of APC won in the 140 electoral wards out of 147 while candidates of opposition parties won seven councillorship seats.

    He said that the candidates of the Social Democratic Party (SDP) won one seat in Akwanga, four in Nassarawa-Eggon, while Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) won two in Doma Local Government. The commission’s chairman explained that nine political parties presented candidates in the local  government elections.

    Similarly, the Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) says the All Progressives Congress (APC) has won all  18 chairmanship and 196 councillorship  seats in the state.

    Dr Ekong Boco, Chairman of the commission, announced the results at the commission’s office in Calabar on Sunday. The election was conducted in all the 18 local government areas in the state on Saturday.

    Boco urged the elected chairmen and councillors to be magnanimous in victory and also give priority to the development of their local governments. Boco, thereafter, presented  certificates  of return to the winners.

  • LG polls: PDP alleges electoral materials hijack in Cross River

    LG polls: PDP alleges electoral materials hijack in Cross River

    The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has alleged hijack of electoral materials for the conduct of Local Government Area (LGA) elections in Cross River by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

    The allegation was made by PDP candidates in the Saturday elections in Yakurr and Obudu Council, Mrs Jennifer Usani and Mr Emmanuel  Asinde respectively.

    They decried the absence of voting materials in their respective LGAs as at the time of filling this report for the election that was scheduled to commence at 8am.

    The PDP candidates said that not only was there absence of materials , there was no semblance of any elections taking place in the areas.

    “There is nobody, polling officials and security agencies in the polling units across Obudu as we speak and obviously, there cannot be voters in the absence of officials and security.

    “Indeed, we were ready for the election but it seems they were never ready for us”, said the Yakurr candidate.

    Also speaking, the Obudu candidate who corroborated his Yakurr counterpart narrative, also alleged that voting was only taking place at the ward of the APC candidate in Obudu.

    “There is no election in the 10 wards, except that of the APC candidate in Obudu”, he claimed.

    Meanwhile, the state electoral umpire has debunked the allegation of materials being hijacked and said voting is currently ongoing across the state.

    A commissioner in the state electoral commission, Mr Daniel Edet, who debunked the claim, saying that the commission had worked hard to ensure hitch-free election.

  • LG election: CROSIEC begins distribution of sensitive materials

    LG election: CROSIEC begins distribution of sensitive materials

    The Cross River State Independent Electoral Commission (CROSIEC) says it has commenced the distribution of sensitive materials ahead of the local government election scheduled to hold in the State on Saturday.

    Recall that the Cross River State Government had earlier declared public holidays to enable voters in the State participate fully in the councils elections scheduled for Saturday, November 1.

    CROSIEC Chairman, Dr Ekong Boco in Calabar during the commencement of distribution of sensitive materials to all the 18 local government areas in the State on Thursday disclosed that 10 political parties will be participating in the Saturday local government election.

    Dr Boco, however, debunked the speculations that the materials had already been sent to the council areas. Boco, who showed everyone the ballot papers before the commencement of distribution, urged political parties to keep supporting the commission until the election was ‘done and dusted’ on Saturday.

    “We will be using 3,281 polling units, as approved by Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), 9,843 ad-hoc staff, 460 supervisors, 18 returning officers and 198 collation officers,” he said.

    The CROSIEC chairman said that all the ad-hoc staff were trained from Oct. 25 to Oct. 27, including the returning officers and ward collation officers, expressing the hope that they would conduct themselves well during the exercise.

    “We want everyone to see that the process is transparent and the commission is clean,” he said.

    Boco further stated that the voting, which would be manual, would commence by 8 a.m. and end by 2 p.m.

    In his remarks, the State Chairman of Inter party Advisory Council (IPAC), Mr Effiom Edet, said that the council had observed the process by the commission, expressing the confidence that the election would be free, fair and credible.

    “We have not noticed in anyway where results were signed for any political party and so we want to let the people know that something like that cannot happen,” he said.

    Friday has been declared public holiday by the state government to ensure effective preparation for the polls.

  • 3 years after, body of ex-Senate president set for burial

    3 years after, body of ex-Senate president set for burial

    The body of the former president of the Senate, Dr Joseph Wayas, who died on November 30, 2021 would be committed to Mother Earth on November 30, three years after his demise.

    This was disclosed at a news conference by Dr Dorn-Cklaimz Enamhe, Secretary, Central Planning Committee for the burial of late Wayas on Thursday in Calabar.

    Wayas, who died in a London hospital at the age of 80, was brought to Nigeria on July 10, 2024 after over two years in a United Kingdom morgue.

    He was born in 1941 in Obanliku; served as the president of the Senate from 1979 to 1983 during the Second Republic.

    Enamhe, who appreciated Gov. Bassey Otu, a member of a group known as: Who is Who in Northern Cross River Forum, and some individuals for repatriating the body of Wayas, called on all those who admired him to join in honouring him.

    According to him, the governor of Cross River has assured them that no elder statesman or leader from Cross River, who died abroad would be left in a foreign land, his remains must be brought to his ancestral home.

    The secretary of the committee said the committee had to work with various authorities in Nigeria and  the Nigerian High Commission in the UK to ascertain the authenticity of the body.

    “When we brought the body back, his wife and children assessed it critically and confirmed that it was their father, so, as I speak to you the body is that of the former president of the senate.

    “Unfortunately the body has been kept this long due to issues and disagreement among members of his family.

    “We had to wait for these issues to be resolved and as of today, they have been resolved, that is why we are going ahead with the burial,” he said.

    He also appreciated the media for constantly reminding the whole nation that the body of the former president of the senate was yet to be buried.

    Mr Nsa Gil, Chief Press Secretary to the Governor of Cross River, said the funeral would be held at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar and later in the deceased home town in Bassang, Obanliku Local Government of Cross River.

    He added that there would be many dignitaries, including Mr Goodwill Akpabio, the current President of the Senate, among others.

  • Cross River declares public holidays for LG election

    Cross River declares public holidays for LG election

    The Cross River Government has declared Thursday and Friday as public holidays to enable voters in the state participate fully in the councils elections scheduled for Saturday, November 1.

    The notice to this effect is contained in a statement by the Chief Press Secretary to the Governor, Mr Nsa Gill, and made available to newsmen on Wednesday.

    Gill said the decision was to allow ample time for those who have to travel outside Calabar to various parts of the state to exercise their civic duties.

    He urged the residents, especially voters, to take advantage of the two-day holidays to engage in the electoral processes and make their voices heard.

  • Cross River govt lifts 25-year embargo on civil service employment

    Cross River govt lifts 25-year embargo on civil service employment

    Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State has lifted the 25-year embargo on employment into the State civil service.

    Dr Erasmus Ekpang, Commissioner for Information, made this known in an interview in Calabar on Wednesday.

    While noting that the last time mass employment took place in the service was in 1999, Ekpang said 2,000 people are to be recruited in the first phase.

    He said the recruitment exercise which will with immediate effect, will be carried out across all the Ministry Department and Agencies (MDAs).

    “The immediate past administration  actually tried to employ but when the present government came in, lots of flaws were discovered in that exercise.

    “As we speak, the State civil service is almost depleted and we are indeed happy that the governor has considered it necessary to recruit at this point in time,” he stated.

    When asked if the state will pay the N70,000 minimum wage, the commissioner said:”that will be considered at the appropriate time”.

    In another development, Gov. Otu has commended the people of the state for not participating in the nationwide “Hunger Protest” which began on Aug. 1.

    He specifically commended  youths for deeming it fit to allow peace reign in the state.

    Cross River to recruit 31 doctors, 153 nurses, others

    Meanwhile, Gov Bassey Otu of Cross River, has approved the recruitment of 31 medical doctors, 153 nurses and 22 pharmacists to address the manpower deficit in the state health sector.

    Dr Henry Ayuk, the Commissioner for Health, disclosed this at a press briefing on Wednesday  in Calabar.

    Ayuk said that the decision to employ more health personnel was aimed at improving healthcare services delivery in the state.

    “Just 20 doctors and 938 nurses in our secondary healthcare facilities serving a population of approximately 3.4 million people is a worrisome situation.

    “As a government, we are poised to address this. This move is to bridge the gap in human capacity, and to equip the sector with the needed manpower.

    “Workforce in the health sector will soon be strengthened, this will have a tremendous impact on healthcare service coverage in the state,” he said.

    The commissioner also said that the governor’s approval had been transmitted to relevant implementing organs of government for immediate action.

    “The State Planning Commission, Office of the Head of Service, and the Civil Service Commission have been communicated to immediately commence the employment process,” he said.

  • Cross River declares total suspension of logging

    Cross River declares total suspension of logging

    Government of Cross River State has declared a total suspension of logging activities in all parts of the State.

    This was contained in a statement signed by Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, Secretary to the Government (SSG) of Cross River on Saturday and made available to journalists.

    It would be recalled that the state government had earlier introduced a permiteeship’ system which empowered the state’s Forestry Commission to give permits to loggers to fell specific trees.

    However, this has not worked as illegal logging has continued in the state even in areas under government protection such as the parks.

    The SSG said, “In spite of the forbearance by government on the activities of timber loggers in the state, government notes the persisting refusal and or neglect to keep to the terms stipulated by government for the felling of trees.

    “Consequently,  Gov.. Bassey Otu has suspended further logging activities in the state.

    “Security agencies are to arrest offenders and confiscate any log and machinery deployed thereto.”

    Owan-Enoh called on the players in the timber logging trade to contact the state forestry commission for further guidance.

    The rainforest in Cross River, which accounts for about 50 per cent of the surviving rainforest in the nation, is under serious threats from human activities such farming, illegal logging and illegal mining.

  • Gov Otu appoints new traditional rulers council chairman

    Gov Otu appoints new traditional rulers council chairman

    Gov. Bassey Otu of Cross River has approved the appointment of His Royal Majesty, Ovai Solomon Edward,  the Paramount Ruler of Abi Local Government Area, as the Chairman of the State Council of Chiefs.

    Otu approved the appointment in a statement by Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, Secretary to the Government of Cross River, on Friday.

    It would be recalled that Otu had on June 14, approved the immediate dissolution of the state’s Council of Chiefs, whose tenure elapsed many years ago.

    This was after the State House of Assembly passed a resolution for a change of the leadership of the State Council of Chiefs, who had overstayed their term in office.

    The governor said the dissolution was in line with the power vested on him by Section 3 of the Council of Chiefs Law of Cross River, 2004.

    According to him, the appointment of the new chairman is for a period of two years, effective from June 21.

    The position of the chairman of the council of chiefs was rotational among the three senatorial districts of the state.

    The newly appointed chairman is from the Central Senatorial District, and after two years, it would go to the Northern Senatorial District before returning to the Southern Senatorial District.

  • Cholera: Cross River activates emergency response team

    Cholera: Cross River activates emergency response team

    Dr Henry Ayuk, the Cross River Commissioner for Health, says the state has activated an emergency response team that will respond to any threat of cholera outbreak in the State.

    The Commissioner, who made this known in an interview in Calabar on Thursday, said that although the state has not witnessed any cholera case since the current outbreak was reported, there was one recorded death associated with cholera around March 2024.

    He added that “there was an outbreak of the disease in Obubura and Biase local government areas between February and April, with one death recorded during the outbreak.

    “That was about the only time we had case of cholera outbreak in this state.”

    On the current outbreak in some states, Ayuk said “we have already adopted the guidelines provided by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC).

    “As part of our preparedness, we have reactivated our public health emergency response team at the state and local government levels for prompt response.

    “We are increasing surveillance in the state and also educating communities on the need to report any case of diarrhea.

    “We particularly focused on the riverine areas where we have designated hot spots such as Etung, Abi, Obubura, Biase and part of Yakurr local government areas.”

    There have been reported cases of cholera outbreak in 30 states of the federation, and Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) has urged state governments to prioritise access to and use of safe water, basic sanitation and proper hygiene practices in communities.

    In a comprehensive advisory released to the public, healthcare workers and state governments, the centre reported a total of 1,141 suspected cases of cholera, with 65 confirmed cases and 30 deaths across 96 local government areas in 30 states from Jan. 1 to June 11.

    The NCDC highlighted that 10 states—Bayelsa, Zamfara, Abia, Cross River, Bauchi, Delta, Katsina, Imo, Nasarawa and Lagos—account for 90 per cent of the cholera burden in the country.