Ayade bags TELL Magazine Governor of the Year Award

Barely two months after clinching The Vanguard Governor of The Year Award, Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade, again yesterday won the the Tell Magazine Governor of The year 2016.

Speaking while presenting the award in Lagos, Editor-in-Chief of TELL Magazine, Mr. Nosa Igiebor, said the award to Ayade was well deserved. 

According to Igiebor, “Ayade’s leadership style has shown that with the right kind of leaders, Nigeria can indeed be a great country we all dream of.”

 Disclosing the emergence of Ayade as TELL Magazine Governor of the Year, the Igiebor hinted that “when the committee decided that we threw the selection process open to Nigerians to decide who their Governor of the Year was, Ayade’s name was a recurrent decimal because of his outstanding performance in Cross River State.”

According to him, “we wanted to celebrate heroes of service in Nigeria. Ayade was less than two years in office and he had already shown the way as well as become a role model in the country.”

 He noted that the organisers of the award were impressed with the governor’s  performs in such a short time despite the challenges of the economy.

Chairman of the Award Committee, Chief Babs Alasa, described Ayade thus: “You are an epitome of excellence in governance and since the award was to honour excellent award, that is why you were nominated as the maiden Tell Magazine Governor of the Year 2016.”

While thanking the organisers for the award, Ayade who was represented by his deputy, Professor Ivara Esu, said it was a great challenge to deliver democratic dividends to the citizenry, given the parlous state of the economy and the harsh realities of the current economic recession.

 He said the state was still struggling to come to terms with certain contradictions in our fiscal federalism, where Cross River has been reduced to an orphan.

 Ayade who dedicated the award the people of the state, the state executive council members, as well as members of the state House of Assembly, without whom not much would have been achieved within such a short time, added: “Consciously, I also believe that this award is an impetus for me to do much more.”

 Commending Ayade for the award, one of the award recipients and Chairman of Airpeace, Barrister Allen Onyema, said he was highly impressed with the progress so far achieved by the governor in Cross River.

According to Onyema, “Cross River State is witnessing massive infrastructural transformation thereby leading to an increase in passengers coming in and out of the state.”

He disclosed the intention of his airline to increasing the number of flights to Calabar.

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