“Ayade Collected Fake Certificates” – Donald Duke; Says The Governor  Presents “Obtuse, Stupid Budgets”

By Charles Igbo

A former Governor of Cross Rivers State, Donald Duke, has alleged that the incumbent Governor of the State, Professor Ben Ayade, parades fake certificates.

Duke, a two-term Governor of the State, accused Ayade of regressing the State by over 30 years.

Both men were in same Political Party – Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, before Ayade dumped the Party for the All Progressives Congress, APC.

Speaking at a Town Hall Meeting in Calabar,  Capital Cross of the State, a couple of days ago, Duke described the Governor as “an acquaintance that amuses me when I an bored.” He said they, in the PDP, made a grievous mistake in 2015 when they “brought him from nowhere” and made him a Governor. He, also, questioned Ayade’s Professorship and said the Governor was collecting fake degrees. “You can stay here and say this is a Professor. Professor of what?”, Duke fired.

Usually calm and collected, Duke did not quite say why he was this angry with the Governor. But he mentioned that Ayade had the temerity to send to him a text message which he dismissed as “nonsense.”

He also dismissed Ayade’s yearly State Budget as “Obtuse and stupid.” He called it “crazy”

Duke: ” I see him (Ayade) as an acquaintance who amuses me when I am bored.

“When we started this journey over 24 years ago, he was somewhere acquiring his fake degrees, fake. You can stand here and say this is a Professor. Professor of what? What has he published?

“You know, we admit something. We made a mistake in 2015, we made a grievous mistake by bringing somebody from nowhere to Governor House, Calabar, and we are paying dearly for it.

“He has regressed this State over 30 years. It is worse than I met it in ’99 (1999). And, he had the temerity to send me a text, telling me such nonsense.

“He is the most cowardly person that has occupied Government House. You know, when you are Governor, you are the Chief Security Officer of the State.

When #EndSARS struck,  he was nowhere to be found. His ADC did not know where he was.

“He says why he is the object of this campaign. Why not? You are going to campaign on your own records. It is a good thing and a blessing that he left PDP and went to where he is.

“They say water finds its level, and Ayade has found his level – the level of non-entity. That’s where he is.

“It is not in my place to interrogate anybody, but I find that  man has ridiculed our State to this level, with obtuse and stupid budgets.

“You don’t raise more than N100 billion, you say you are budgeting N1.3 trillion. Are you crazy? Then, you give it all kinds of fanciful names. Then, you have the temerity to talk to me because of politics.”

It is not known why Duke said Ayade “was collecting fake certificates.” A Google search shows that Governor  Ayade is well read, a scholar. He earned a B.Sc.(Honours)  (1984-1998), an M.Sc in Microbiology (1989-1990) and a PhD in Environmental Microbiology, (1990-1994), all from the University of Ibadan, Nigeria. He won the best Doctoral Dissertation Award in Environmental Microbiology.

Ayade, also, has an MBA(2000-2002) from Ambrose Alli University, Ekpoma, and a degree in Law – LLB. He was a lecturer at the Delta State University where he was appointed a Professor.

The Governor, also, invented a Sewage Treatment Plant powered by Solar Energy from his work in Ground Water Remediation In Nigeria.

Before he was elected Governor in 2015, Professor Ben Ayade was a Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.