Architect Bassey Ndem, former Commissioner for Lands in Cross River, has described the relocation of the sub-office of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) from Calabar to Uyo in Akwa Ibom, as a painful effect of chaos.
Ndem was reacting to the relocation of WAEC to Uyo following the vandalisation and burning down of its office in Calabar by suspected hoodlums during the #EndSARS protesters.
In a press statement in Calabar on Wednesday, the architect who was presently one of the king makers in the palace of the Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, said the sad events of Oct. 23 and 24 had left any true citizen of Cross River in utter shock and despair.
According to him, what started as a commendable #EndSARS protest that showed the finest spirit of Nigerian youths and what this country can be, was hijacked by agents of darkness and twisted into an unprecedented descent into anarchy.
“Today, we have been reminded of the unexpected, long term effects of this chaos, when we witnessed the governor of Cross River, pleading passionately with WAEC not to leave the state and relocate to Uyo, Akwa Ibom.
“This means that thousands of residents of Cross River will now have to spend scarce resources and ply the dangerous Calabar-Uyo highway, just to handle routine matters concerning their education.
“The effect this will have on us as an already educationally disadvantaged state, is better left unsaid.
“At this point in time , I believe all hands must be joined in support of the governor who remains captain of the ship of the state in the middle of very stormy waters.
“This is not a time for distraction, finger pointing and blaming anybody at the federal, state or local government levels as such can only dissipate energy that should be channelled into rebuilding and restoring our shattered infrastructure and social fabric,” he said.
Ndem condemned what he termed the sensational headlines in the media, insinuating that the Obong of Calabar called for the overthrow of the democratically elected government of Cross River and its replacement with an illegal interim government.
“I call on our media practitioners to be more circumspect and constructive about the kind of headlines they put out in the social media, this is not the time to add fuel to an already raging fire,” Ndem said.
He however, thanked the security operatives who gallantly responded with restraint and everyone who put his or herself in harm’s way by confronting the marauders and protecting some public and private properties.
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