Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has expressed regrets that people have failed to see the sincerity of his actions in government. He said many governors like him suffer persecution because they fail to serve certain interests.

Mr Ayade disclosed this in an interview with Channels TV which will be aired on Tuesday. A snippet was shared on Monday.

Answering a question about his regret as a two term governor of Cross River, Mr Ayade said “the regret is this, the society is coloured by the stories they read. They don’t see the heart of the person. They don’t see sincerity, they don’t see the goodness.

He continued, “I get hurt because I see how sincere I am. I see how impossible it is to pay these salaries that I am expanding everyday. And somebody is relying on the stories somebody who has asked me for something yesterday. Let me tell you governors go through a lot of persecution.”

The governors accused some journalists of maliciously destroying his name via negative stories.

“A man calls you today and say ‘I need N40 million’. I say I don’t have N40 million, can you manage this N5 million? Two weeks later, he calls you, ‘I need a car’.  These are people who call themselves journalists. The day you say no. The stories he writes about you are unbelievable.” Mr Ayade alleged.

“You call him and ask ‘how can you do this?’ He will say if I don’t write something negative nobody reads my story. Anytime I write something positive nobody reads. So destroying your name is his business to be able to thrive. And the poor public takes that as the perception of the person.” Mr Ayade said. 

Mr Ayade’s tenure as governor will elapse on May 29. His bid to move to the Senate failed as he was defeated in the senatorial election that was held on February 25.