Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has bagged the Independent Newspaper Governor of the Year award for 2019.
A statement from the Special Assistant to the governor on Online media, Emmanuel Ulayi stated that it is the third of such awards in 2019 for the governor following similar awards by Leadership and Champion newspapers.
Ayade, the newspaper said, emerged after a highly competitive screening exercise conducted by its board of editors.
It said the Cross River State helmsman stands out from his peers for his inspiring and “remarkable efforts to create an economy” for his state, “with a view to decoupling it from over reliance on federation allocation, where the state earns the second least allocation.”
It noted that “through his digital approach to governance, Prof Ayade has effectively transformed Cross River State into a preferred investors’ destination, by creating a favorable environment for the inflow of local and foreign investments, while also building numerous industries in the agricultural sector, to bring about value addition and other multiplier effects on the economy.
It stated further that “by his sterling performance so far in office, amidst paucity of funds, Governor Ayade has effectively distinguished himself as one of the most outstanding governors since the advent of the current democratic dispensation since 1999, and also a pathfinder of good governance in Nigeria.”
