Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade, this Wednesday, locked out some of his aides, including some staff of Government House, Calabar, for coming late to work.
On arriving at the office as early as 7:58am, Ayade was said to have immediately ordered the opening of a register and asked the chief security officer to lock the gate at 8:30am against any late-coming worker thereafter.
Those locked out include all levels of workers, including top-ranking officers of the state civil service as well as political appointees. On Tuesday, Christian Ita, the governor’s spokesperson, said Ayade had always expressed his displeasure for lateness, adding that he had rewarded those who are committed to their duties.
He said if the governor can show up at the office as early as 8 am, the workers in the government house should not have an excuse for coming late. “The normal resumption time is 8am, and if a governor can be in office at that time, why can’t others be around?. The governor has always shown reward and sanction to workers; he doesn’t hesitate to sanction when you err and also reward you when you are committed to duty,” he said.