A Coalition of Civil Society Organisations has called on the Governor of Cross River State, Prof. Ben Ayade, to lift the ban placed on the activities of civil society organisations in the state.
They described the governor’s action as a deliberate attempt to gag CSOs in the state.
Addressing journalists in Abuja on Friday, the leader of the Coalition and Director of Tap Initiative for Citizens Development, Martin Obono, lamented that democratic participation was on a decline in the state.
He said, “The state government headed by Ben Ayade banned activities by Civil Society Organisations in Cross River State, this is a deliberate attempt to close the civic space in the state contrary to section 39 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended). We, however, call on him to immediately lift this ban on CSO.
“We have also noticed a further decline in democratic participation in the state as the government of Cross River consistently uses Mopol 75 to brutalise women who protested the usurpation of their farmlands.”
Obono also expressed worries on the level of independence, non-interference, and non-partisanship of the Cross River State Police Command, ahead of the bye-elections in the state.
Copyright PUNCH.
