CSOs: Why We Endorsed Ayade as Man of the Year

A coalition of over 50 civil society organisations under the umbrella of the Civil Society National Lectures and Awards (CISNALA) has justified its conferment of the man of the year award on Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade, on account of “his recorded milestone in good governance, democracy dividends, people oriented policies and programmes, transparency and accountability, as well as infrastructure and human capital development.”

The latest award as the CSO Man of the year by the coalition of the nation’s civil society organisations is coming on the heels of similar recognitions by three of Nigeria’s frontline newspapers, Vanguard, Business Hallmark and the Authority newspapers respectively.

In a joint statement issued on behalf of CISNALA, Innocent Ebirim Okadigbo, Convener of CISNALA and National Coordinator of COCMEP; Malam Umar Farouk, Convener, Transparency Centre Network, among others, the group said the exercise, which the governor had no inkling of and leading to his eventual “emergence as the CSO Man of the Year, was a product of a keenly contested and due process compliant selection system.”

The statement further noted that the award would soon be conferred on governor Ayade in Abuja, on a date yet to be announced.

According to CISNALA, other considerations for the conferment of the award on the governor include “his strident green life advocacy, construction of the largest garment factory in Africa, construction of multi-million dollar rice city project, completion of Calabar International Convention Centre, prompt and regular payment of workers’ salaries, ongoing construction of his signature projects, namely, the Bakassi Deep Seaport and 260 km Digital Superhighway, among others.”