The Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has approved the disbursement of ₦1.96bn as vehicle grants to 196 ward councillors across the 18 local government areas of the state.
Under the arrangement, each councillor is to receive ₦10m to procure a vehicle, with the state government stating that the funds will be paid in full without any deductions from their salaries.
The development was disclosed by the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate for Bakassi State Constituency and former Special Assistant on New Media to the governor, Andrea Inyang, who described the gesture as unprecedented in the political history of the state.
According to Inyang, Governor Otu has directed that the payments be made within the week, stressing that the vehicle grants will not be recovered through salary deductions, as has been the practice in some previous arrangements.
He said, “This will be the first time in history that councillors are given cars or monies for cars in the state without a direct deduction from their salaries.”
Confirming the development, the Deputy Press Secretary to the Governor, Darlington Edem, said the decision for each councillor to receive ₦10m was reached after the governor presented several options for consideration.
He explained that the governor allowed the councillors to choose the form of support they preferred, adding that they unanimously opted for the cash grant.
“The ₦10 million was not the decision of the governor. Rather, it was part of the many options he placed on the table for them,” Edem said.
“When the governor said he would allow them decide and get back to him at any time, they chose the option of ₦10 million right there.”
He further noted that, contrary to the usual practice of deductions, the governor made it clear that the ₦10m would be paid in full without any salary deductions.