In what is appears to be a reflection of things to come in his second tenure, Cross River state, Ben Ayade has directed that the recent allocation of cocoa farms undertaken by the State Cocoa Allocation Committee to certain individuals, be cancelled.
A statement just released in Calabar by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Christian Ita, Ayade is quoted as instructing that the cancellation takes effect immediately.
We gather that the governor bowed to several petitions accusing the allocation committee of favouring unnamed appointees in Ayade’s government as beneficiaries. Some of the beneficiaries, www.calitown.com was informed this afternoon, “have no experience running Cocoa farms, they just want to collect the farms and outright sell them off for quick gains. Those of us whose parents donated land for this enterprise, cannot sit down and watch ursurpers come here and undermine the desire of government to make our state a recognised cocoa producer”, as one source said.
