Governor Ayade To legalize Hawking

The Cross River State governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has sent a Hawkers'
Right Bill to the State House of Assembly in a bid to legalize hawking
in the state.
Ayade, in an interaction with reporters in his office in Calabar said
it is insensitive for a government to ban hawking without any
alternative.
According to him, such amounted to the infringement of the right of the hawker.
His words, "I have just sent the Hawkers' Right Bill to the House of
Assembly, to provide a right for hawking. You cannot tell a man not to
sell his goods because he does not have money to rent a store. And you
tell the man not to steal? Just provide a regulatory framework; there
should be reflective outfits, there should be a minimum age of 18 to
hawk, you will have a time frame when you come out so that you don't
constitute nuisance. But to prohibit hawking is to tell a man I don't
want to give you food, and I don't want you to steal. It is unfair.
They have right to seek and determine how they chose to live within
the ambits of the law.
"Cross River would the first state that would officially recognize
hawking. The core mandate of a leader should be the social security of
his people. If a man choses to hawk, if you are government that is
sensitive and understands the real principle and objective of the law,
then you will know that the hawker has a right. Governance is about
how you protect the weakest in the society and that is why even with
the way things are, Cross River is still doing tax exemption for the
poor."
The governor also said the expansion of his new government by engaging
about 800 appointees was deliberate to ensure many people were
empowered financially.
He announced that he was going to announce 300 more appointees next week.
Ayade said he would rather spend four years paying salaries to reduce
hunger and quit as governor than spend money on projects and
politicians.
The governor also said the Presidential System adopted from America
was not the best in running the country.