The Cross River State 10th House of Assembly has formerly been inaugurated, with Honourable Elvert Ayambem elected as Speaker while Honourable Sylvester Agabi is elected Deputy speaker.
The House arrived at the decision after Ayambem and Agabi were both nominated unopposed by the House.
Declaring the 10th Assembly inaugurated, the state Governor Senator Bassey Otu who was represented by his deputy, Peter Odey, said “by the powers conferred on me by the Constitution, I hereby declare the 10th House of Assembly of Cross River State open”.
In his maiden address to the House, the speaker, Elvert Ayambem, affirmed that the 10th Assembly is the people’s Assembly.
According to him: “We (The Assembly) affirm, that our resolve to preserve the labour of our heroes past, has not found more expression, than it would be in the 10th Assembly, which I crystain ‘the people’s Assembly.
“Today I am here and can boldly exclaim, ‘na me be this! To my colleagues, I am neither your Boss nor your Leader, but just a privileged first amogst equals. I do not take this confidence you have reposed in me for granted, it could have been any of us in this hallowed chamber.
“25 of us are here gathered, whatever vehicles of political persuasion facilitated our coming thus far, must at this point lose its relevance, to the bye-partisan conversations of a greater Cross River State.
“Our membership of the 10th Assembly must not be lost on the realities of time; hunger, insecurity, underdevelopment, unemployment and weak institutions, respect on political alignment are the reasons this Assembly must overlook political differences and give priority to project- Cross River State”.
