The Cross River State Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Venatius Ikem, has dismissed the state’s 2023 budget, describing it as embarrassing and worthless.
Ikem’s reaction came after the state governor, Prof Ben Ayade, presented a budget estimate of N330 billion for 2023.
Describing the budget, tagged, ‘Budget of Quantum Infinitum,’ as an embarrassment, he said, “It is madness to budget in a single year N330 Billion, whereas in the entire revenue accruals to the state from the Federation Account from 2015, when he took over, to July 2022, is N249 Billion!
“This irresponsible pretension to budgeting is an embarrassment to the state and has gone on for seven years.”
The PDP chairman said it was a shame that Governor Ayade was only “making a mockery of himself”, adding that the whole country had seen him as a jester. Similarly, a chieftain of the PDP in Cross River, Dorn Klaimz Enamhe, advised Governor Ayade to resign.
The university don maintained that Cross River’s 2023 budget was an economic disaster waiting to happen and in other climes, people with such budgets had resigned for misleading the people.
“The Cross River State budget is laughable and very predictable, an economic disaster in waiting.
“In other climes people with such budgets would have resigned for misleading the people.
“A case study is Liz Truss UK’s immediate past Prime Minister who was forced to resign”, he said.
Speaking on the governor’s senatorial ambition, Enamhe, who is also the DG of the Senator Jarigbe Campaign Council said, “The governor cannot go to the Senate because his people have rejected him. It is laughable. He has spent four years in the Senate and more than seven years in government, yet it took Senator Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe to develop the northern part of Cross River State in just under one year. Senator Jarigbe, from his performance and selflessness, is returning to the Senate,” he said.
About the Author
THEWILL Correspondent, Aniekan Bassey has over six years experience that spans across several fields in print journalism including development communication, sexual reproductive and health rights issues, crime, climate change, social justice, business and human interest stories.
