The honeymoon between Governor Ben Ayade and the state Assembly may have been over as the lawmakers reportedly ‘refused’ to reconvene on Monday as scheduled, allegedly over unpaid allowances and sundry issues.
The refusal to reconvene, investigations revealed, was in protest over the non-payment of their statutory finances by the Cross River state government since the Assembly was inaugurated about three months ago.
Unconfirmed reports from the House said the state government was also yet to make official vehicles available to members to help them function effectively and efficiently in the discharge of their duty to their immediate constituencies.
When our reporter visited the Assembly complex Monday afternoon, members were seen talking in hushed tones, and were unwilling to speak on the matter.
Mr Hope Obeten, Press Secretary to the Speaker of the House denied there was a rift between the executive and the legislature.
He said: “the House was supposed to sit on the 10th of September, but they couldn’t because most of the principal officers, including the Speaker and Deputy Speaker, went for a conference in Abuja.
“Many of them just came back and are in their various offices, you can come to the Assembly and confirm. The non-reconvening today has nothing to do with non-payment of allowances or issuance of official vehicles. That information is not true.”
