From Judex Okoro, Calabar
The Director General of Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe Campaign Organisation, Dr Dorncklaimz Enamhe, has alleged that the rush hour appointments being announced by Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River as a conduit for vote buying ahead of 2023.
In the last couple of months, Ayade has announced over 2,000 political appointments, mostly drawn from the northern part of the state, where he hails from.
Governor Ayade is the APC candidate for northern senatorial zone and would slug it out with the incumbent Sen Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
Enamhe, a foundation member of PDP, said the latest appointments, especially the one dated October 31, 2022 with a total number of 358 appointees, is nothing but a vote buying strategy intended to lure prospective voters to trade their franchise for a morsel of bread.
Speaking while exchanging views with newsmen over the unending “food-on-the-table” appointments, Enamhe, a university don, described the development as a gimmick to lure voters through the backdoor and achieve his (Ayade) senate ambition.
He said: “The fear of losing elections at the polls has triggered desperation such that he now wants to place every voter in the north on government payroll under the guise of state appointments. We understand the gimmicks and dynamics of his antecedents. It can never work.
“The forthcoming senate election in Cross River North is a battle of scorecards. It is unthinkable that a sitting governor with enormous resources can be outperformed in all ramifications by a senator barely a year in the Red Chamber. Our people are wiser now, they have opted for Senator Jarigbe whom they fondly referred to as Mr. Project.”
He implored the Governor to concentrate on completing and inaugurating his signature projects before leaving office rather than dissipating energies announcing irrelevant appointments as conduits for vote buying
Jarigbe, who marked his one in the Senate, is credited with various people-oriented projects across the 54 wards of the district.