Govt Lodge Calabar abandoned by Governor Ayade

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By: VITALIS UGOH, Calabar.
The government lodge built by Brigadier -General U. J. Esuene, (late) in the early 1970s to accommodate governors of the state, may have been abandoned by the current Governor, Ben Ayade.
Our correspondent reported that the Government Lodge which was occupied by all the past governors, is now a ghost yard as no trace of government presence could be traced as at the time of filing this report.
At the last count, over 13 military administrators and democratically elected governors had at one time or other lived in the government lodge.
Sources close to Government House said there are no sign that Governor Ben Ayade or his Deputy have plans to move into their lodges.
According to our source, “there are no security personnel within and outside the lodge which means that he has no plan to move in”.
Other governors/military administrators, as soon as they came on board, renovated the lodge to suit their taste and thereafter moved in without delay, our source added.
To confirm the story, Ayade had scheduled a media parley to hold at the Pereigrino Lodge inside the Government Lodge, but had to move the venue realising that the compound was untidy as labourers were immediately drafted inside to clean the rooms and environment.
Journalists were cajoled to move down to the lodge but later redirected to an open field near the Deputy Governor’s lodge waiting from 7 am to 12.40 pm.
The reason behind Ayade not moving into the government Lodge is not far fetched from the rent he collects every month.  This has also made his Deputy not to move to his official residence one year after.
For now, the beautiful, serene Government Lodge Calabar has remained a ghost yard as no single soul resides inside it.
When contacted, the Chief Press Secretary and SA to the governor on Media, Mr. Christian Ita said that renovation work is currently going on inside the lodge.
The governor and his deputy cannot packed into a building that is undergoing renovation, he added.
Former governors, Clement David Ebri, Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke, all lived and received their guests at the Peregrino lodge.

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