The Obong of Calabar, His Eminence Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V has laid the blame of the vandalism, looting and destruction of public and private buildings/business concerns in Calabar and environs at the doorsteps of the government of Cross River state.

Speaking in Calabar, Friday, when former Governor Liyel Imoke led a delegation to his palace, the monarch expressed pains over the destruction of everything Calabar held dear, saying the carnage was an indication that political class has failed.

“Why is this happening to us? It is because politicians have failed. And if I had my way, I could have said, this governor, should wait, let’s set up an interim administration then he starts learning on how administrations are actually done,” he said.

The Obong said the attack happened partly because the governor was not holding regular security meetings.

“He should be holding security meetings regularly. This thing would not have happened if he had called the security people together after hearing what happened in Lagos and other places; if he had called them together and tell them, look my friends; nothing should happen in my state. The calamity would have been averted.

“The key is that there has to be a change of attitude, every one of you should have access to the governor. Now that we have professor and professor in administrative set up, we expected that we should have the best. The governor should be able to open his door for people to come in, and should work with everybody.”

Speaking earlier, Imoke told the Obong that in the wake of the incident, he thought it wise to seek the help and cooperation of the traditional institution in finding a way out of the problem.

He said, “We do not understand the extent of the carnage. We are all victims of this incident. If you were not hit directly, you were hit indirectly. For me I was hit directly, so to very many public officials. They were also hit directly.

“We came to get some pieces of advice from you before we even set out looking for solution. We are not here to play the blame game. We are here to look for sustainable solutions.”