Pillar Today

Category: Interview

  • Education is Window to Our Tomorrow, Ndoma-Egba

    Education is Window to Our Tomorrow, Ndoma-Egba

    Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN

    By Anietie Akpan

    Former Senate Leader, Pro Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council of the Federal University Oye-Ekiti (FUOYE), Senator Victor Ndoma-Egba, SAN; in a chat with some newsmen in Calabar at weekend. He spoke on the declining standard of education in the country, sexual harassment in universities, the milestones in FUOYE, governance in Cross River, politics and others. Excerpts :

    What’s your Assessment of Education in Nigeria?

    I keep saying that the real resource or the real wealth of any nation is not in its natural resources or natural endowments.The real wealth of any nation is in its young men and his young women, his youth. And those youth are a resource only when they are educated or they are skilled and they are empowered. But if they are not educated and they are not skilled or empowered, they are no longer a resource.They become a cause, you know.

    So if you look at all those countries that have done well, you take a country like Japan, or take Israel, for instance, or take Taiwan, or take South Korea, what natural endowments do they have?.Actually, zero.

    But today they dominate the world. Why? It is because of Education. See where China is with technology. It is ecause they have developed an educational system and an educational curriculum that trains you to confront the challenges of not just today, but the challenges of tomorrow. Education that gives you a futuristic perspective of global development.

    But here we are still struggling with courses like classics and all those things. Yes, that is a source of knowledge, but today’s world and tomorrow’s world will be technology driven. I sat with a gentleman on a flight from the US to London some three, four years back, and he turned out to be a University professor in the US. When we got talking and I got to know he was a professor, I said to him, Prof. how will the school curriculum in the US look like in the next five years? He said, Victor, I can’t tell you of how the curriculum of my own University will look like in the next 12 months. I can’t even tell you because it’s evolving so very quickly. Today you have Artificial Intelligence (AI). It’s a new thing in town, it has altered virtually everything, how we even approach learning now.

    I will tell you as a joke. I saw on social media a young lady with the middle name and surname that looked like a friend of mine in UK that I lost contact with. So I said, okay, let me just chat with her so that through her I will be able to connect the father. Her English was terrible. And then by the time we had chatted twice, it was like, uncle, can I have money for my project? I’m writing my project. So I said to her, in what language? Because your English is very bad. In what language are you going to use? She said, I’m going to use AI. So that is not learning, you say, but our lecturers accept it. So AI has even become another challenge.

    And if we don’t begin, because we are already left behind, our budgetary provision is not sufficient to even take us to the UN threshold of 15 percent, we are still very far behind. So there is a challenge to education today. And while we are struggling with where we are, the world is moving ahead. So the gap between us and the rest of the world will just keep widening, you know, so we must do something. Why we are sitting here now sharing ideas and sharing thoughts is because we went to school.

    Years back, we wanted to do some work for UBA.  late Richard Ebri and I. And they said we should go to their area office in Uyo and we went to the area office. Clearly the Area Manager did not know who I was because he just came. He passed me in front. Richard has been there 25 years. So we are looking at more than 25 years ago. So he just passed a number of times and one of the staff who knew me went to him to say, these are the lawyers who came for this. He said, no, no, no, they don’t qualify. So I now said to him, sir, how do you mean?And he replied, as a policy we don’t engage lawyers called after 1990. I said, I wasn’t called in 1990. Why do you assume that I was called in 1990? He said, from your looks and I said, okay, let me tell you the truth. I have led a life deceiving people with my looks. So let me tell you the truth. I was called in 1978, and then I was like, but why was the 1990 date? Because as far as the bank was concerned, the standard of education started falling after 1990.

    So education is key, it is the window to our tomorrow. And then for me, I went into education sector by just share circumstances. You know, my wife was running a school. It was when she passed on and I was afraid that there was going to be a gap on the school because she was physically present, you know, and dominated how the school taught.  So I needed to move in immediately as a way of reassuring the parents that, look, you still have the same kind of attention that you had when Madam was alive. So I now got involved and the school is nursery, primary and secondary. At least I now have a background at that level of education until this University stuff now came. Now I have a comprehensive picture of what the problems in education are right now.

    On sexual harassment issue at FUOYE, what is the situation now ?

    For the issue of sexual harassment, the University Governing Council set up a committee to investigate and I was told two weeks ago when we had our convocation that the report was ready but because of the week long activities of the convocation, we could not take the report. So the committee formerly asked for an extension of time which we granted and I am hoping that we will have an emergency meeting very shortly to consider the report and close that matter. I am anxious to close that matter because the University is now being defined by that allegation of that sexual harassment rather than its other achievements. We need to put that matter behind us.

    What would you say is the success story of FUOYE

    First, like I said, it is the most fourth subscribed public University. It is not the University that says so, it is JAMB. It is JAMB that processes admissions that has said we are the fourth most subscribed public university. So the question will be why has the University become so attractive? The quality of its academic offerings and I think all their courses are fully accredited by the National Universities Commission.

    Yes, we still have a deficit in terms of infrastructure. There’s a gap. I’ll give you the most obvious one which is accommodation. The students live in the various villages, because we don’t have enough on campus accommodation.

    Two, we don’t have any staff quarters of any kind. What makes a university a University is that it is essentially a community. There’s academic work going on or no academic work going on. It’s a community of people seeking knowledge. And that is why staff clubs are very important in the University because that is where people need to unwine. We don’t have that. I still stay in a hotel in Ado Ekiti and then every morning I do two hours drive to Ekiti. So you would have lost two hours in traffic by the time you get there, the best part of you is already gone because you are tired. By the time it’s getting to five o’clock, your colleagues on the council are coming to worry, Oh Oga, let’s go now it is getting late. So you don’t really exhaust yourself. I would like to sit down and work until I fall asleep, but then you can’t do that. So there is that challenge of infrastructure, in the classrooms we are still trying to catch up. We have achieved quite a lot in 14 years and if you check the last visitation panel report as the basis, you would see how much has been achieved.

    There are lots of complains in the Universities, involving sorting and the rest. How can we tackle this? How do you handle cases of sexual harassment?

    Well, let’s take the sexual harassment. First of all. I think you people have known me long enough to know the kind of person that I am. The fact is that I don’t joke with time. I don’t tolerate this issue of compromising the system for to get certificates because the certificate I have from University of Lagos is respected all over the world.

    When I went to Lokoja, the first thing I did was, in two months, I sacked six professors for sexual harassment. It did not happen while I was there, it happened before I went there. They were investigating but you know how our systems work, they tried to protect themselves. I am a lawyer and we are trained to read from introduction, facts and conclusion. So when you have read the facts and they do not tally with the conclusion, then there is something there.

    So I told them to take it back and align their findings with the conclusion. And they had no choice but to go and do the needful. I said, what does the university law say? What does the punishment say? Oh, some of them are old men they said but I sacked them. I don’t tolerate that because it degrades the value of the certificate you are holding.

    Children go to miracle centres write exams and get As and the Bs they can not defend. This is disturbing. The academic system has become so thoroughly compromised in the country for a long time and it brings me back to the University where I am and why it has suddenly become so attractive to students. Apart from the fact that it is located in Ekiti and Ekiti is known for love for education, the main reason why FUOYE has become so attractive is because we have not started suffering from these disruptions to calendars. In spite of Covid and the prolonged nine  months of ASUU strike in the same period, our students still graduated on time and our timetable has become invoilable.

    And secondly, all our courses are fully accredited. I told this long story so that you can sift the issues. This issue of sexual harassment is a no go area, if you are caught, I deal with you straight, same goes for sorting.

    Currently, I am looking for a way of getting people who can sponsor publications of our lecturers that cost as much as 700 dollars. and we pay directly to the publishers, so that our lecturers can publish and that way, you do not need anybody to sort you out. Those are the things that make our certificates neglected.

    When I resumed duty, first I met the staff, then met the students and the unions and we all agreed  that this is where we are going. It is in the interest of everybody for the world to take our certificate seriously. How will they take our certificate seriously? If there’s integrity to our timetable, a four year programme must be a four year programme. If Charles, for instance, graduates BSc Physics at his age, Charles himself should be able to justify that Bsc that he has. He himself should be able to justify it, you know, and then create the proper academic environment. But you must talk to the unions. I had an agreement, an understanding with the unions. The only union I’m still having issues with is SSANU because they prefer to talk about sexual harassment of a lady who herself is not, you know, but with the other unions. ASUU has told me that sir, for as long as you are here we would rather dialogue with you than go on strike and we have a deal on that. All the other unions said, look, we had rather talk because I have told them my office, you know how my office is, I don’t shut my doors. It’s the same thing there, leave it open. Anybody who wants to come and see me, he should come in, let me hear from him and then we put our heads together to find a solution to whatever he said. So the unions are critical as far as I’m concerned. This strike things has become very boring. Strike as a weapon for negotiations has become very boring. So the unions must be a bit more creative in how they approach their grievance mechanisms.

    What’s your impression on Calabar- Itu road?

    I started practice, if you recall, in Ogoja in 1979 before I relocated to Calabar in 1981. Ogoja to Calabar was 2 hours. Exactly 2 hours. Ogoja- Ikom was 35 minutes. Ikom Calabar was 1 hour 25 minutes. When I moved to Calabar, the bulk of my practice, Ogoja to Obudu was 30 minutes. Obudu to Ikom was 35 minutes. And Calabar to Obudu was also exactly two hours. When I moved to Calabar, the bulk of my practice was in today’s Akwa Ibom, then Akwa Ibom was still part of Cross River. It was so because most of our cases were in Eket. Eket to Calabar was 60 minutes, Ikot Ekpene was 60 minutes, Aba was 1 hour 20 minutes and there was no airport in Uyo. If you missed your flight in Calabar, you rushed to Port Harcourt, Rivers state it was exactly two hours. I remember there was a case I was doing with the late Dr. Mudiaga Oje, he was one of the earliest SAN and President of NBA but he was based in Warri and I went to court with him in Warri. I left Calabar that morning, went to court with him in Warri, came back to Calabar and still played tennis. Can you try it now? We did not have a Court of Appeal in Calabar until 1999. So the Court of Appeal was in Enugu and we will go to Enugu and come back. We never slept in Enugu. We go to Enugu, finish our case and come back same day but today, I don’t know, anywhere in the south you can do that now.

    We used to drive with Professor Roland (Ndoma-Egba) from Lagos to Calabar, Lagos to Eket, where the old man was. It was seven or eight hours but today, where will you go to in the south that will take you less than a day?

    So it is not just the Calabar-Itu road. If you try to move from Onne in Port Harcourt to the town, it’s like half a day’s drive. It is a national collapse of infrastructure. This is a distance that should take you ordinarily, 10, 15 minutes, you know. Current administration of President Bola Tinubu is trying to fix all that.

    How will you assess the administration of the Governor of Cross River, Senator Prince Bassey Otu?

    The administration of Senator Bassey Otu is resetting governance to traditional methods of governance that we are familiar with. You know, the eight years before him, it was eight years of experimentation of all sorts of styles. It was eight years of experiments. And those experiments have not been subjected to any empirical studies. So Otu is just trying to reset the system back to the kind of governance that we were taught in school.

    On Politics and your plans for 2027?

    I haven’t left politics. I’m in politics. My only plan now is to continue talking for my people.You see, people mistake politics for holding office, elective office or appointive office. When last did Chief Edwin Clark hold any office? Since in the days of Gowon, now he just died at 97. So for almost 50 years, he did not hold any office, but he was the voice of his people. The same thing with Chief Tony Ani. So you don’t need to hold an office to be involved in speaking for your people.

    God did not take me to this level for me to go and keep quiet, it’s too late. I remember in 2019, when I tried to go back to the Senate when then President Buhari said I should go back to the senate. I had a meeting in Ikom and somebody asked when I would retire. I asked why and he said, I am too old. My classmates who are still in service, are Justices of the Supreme court and they did not retire. Even those teaching in Universities have not retired.

    I do not know what 2027 would bring because I have been everything that I did not plan to be and I have never been anything that I planned to be but I will still be talking for my people, whether from the palace or from the trench.

    That children of the poor can not access the students loans?

    I think one of the achievements we have in FUEYE is that a number of students have benefited . This is the first time I am hearing that only the children of the rich benefit. One will like to do a study then use the students of FUOYE as an example using one of its departments to analyze it. But it does appear to me it is available to everybody who applies because of the way it is managed.

    It is a scheme that I endorse because during our time I even got a student loan which I paid back when I started working as a lawyer in Ogoja. We had the students loan scheme and the scholarship programmes. It was a big thing in those days. We had a scholarship board run by Michael Mon paying school fees for students all over the world so I think this is a good initiative

  • We Inherited N45,000 Only on Assumption of Office, Mayor of Calabar

    We Inherited N45,000 Only on Assumption of Office, Mayor of Calabar

    Chairman, Calabar Municipal Council, Apostle James Anam

    By Anietie Akpan

    In late December last year, the College of Veterans of the Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ), Cross River Council had an interactive session with the Chairman and Mayor of Calabar Municipal Council, Apostle James Anam.

    In the almost one hour session, the Mayor opened up on a wide range of issues touching finance, state of the council, infrastructure and others. Excerpts:

    You have just resumed, What did you meet on ground?

    I am very intentional about what is happening here as a councilchairman. I came to meet a dilapidated Council in all facets; we do not have light, water and security. People come in here to steal things, the place is just a free zone.

    Nothing is working in any office, as we speak, if there is need to photocopy something, it is brought to my temporary office as this is actually not my office but the Paramount ruler’s. I came, rehabilitated and restructured the place so I can stay and work. It is that bad and I am in a haste to work but the rational here is very different, the government must sit before you do anything. I can assure you that, without mincing words, I came to meet N45,000 only in the coffers of government. So we cannot do anything but glory be to God that we have come, I am sure with God on our side, we are going to rehabilitate the entire local government as it is.

    What kind of infrastructure did you meet?

    In the area of infrastructure, I cannot sit in my office because there is no office to sit. When I did an inspection of the entire Council, it is amazing that the legislature do not have where to sit and if they try to go in there, they would be attacked by rodents and other things, it is as bad as that.

    So, I want to thank His Excellency, the governor of our state, who is also ready because in our first meeting with him, he told us in clear terms that he has not touched the monies of local governments, and that as we resume, we are going to kick-start restructuring things and bringing things back to normal. I think we may not have much of a problem as a government. He said that we cannot have funds released to start working now because it is a festive periodbut. I am sure from the beginning of next year, if you come back here, you would be happy to see a rejuvenated place, a place where a real government is in place.

    What are your plans?

    We intend to do a lot of things like restructuring. We will remodel the offices, the political block and administrative block. Coming into the council, it does not look like a council and so we are going to resurface the roads to give it a better look and let the people know there is a government in place.

    For the issue of light, I have set up a committee and we are going to bring back the transformer, as it was vandalized few days before I came in, as I was told but I cannot be sure.

    Other Projects?

    We have ear-marked certain things outside of government; our health centres are destroyed, our schools are vandalized, our markets are not in good shape, so we intend to do the things that will touch the common man, that is what interests me. The committee that we setup have gone into all the health centres in Calabar Municipality, we have gone into all the primary schools, we have also gone to all government structures that have not been used for many years in order to see what we can do to bring life back to our people.

    We intend to touch markets, like when I went for my campaigns at Ikot Ishi market, I told them that once I am sworn in by the grace of God, I would come back to look into the situation of that market. I am aware that market was roofed 28 years ago, and so we are going to remodel the market. Even though we are government, we cannot go around to the people,instead, we went and met the clan Council to seek their approval and they had shown us joy that they had seen a government that can say a thing and keep to it. It is not just one market, there are several other markets and we need to attend to all of them.

    Calabar Municipal Does Not have a Functional Motor Park, what at your plans on this?

    We also intend to have a central park in Calabar Municipality as this is one thing that has been lacking. People go from here to Etim Edem park which is even no longer a park. So I think the capital of a state like this must have a central park where anyone can go to and travel to wherever he wants to.

    Around the shopping mall that was done by the other government, we intend to have a park there as we have a very large span of land to build the park. Bible says when the righteous rule, the people rejoice. God has already given a consortium that is coming to build, service and run the park for us for a period of time, like a private, public, partnership (ppp) kind of project. Apart from that, we want to decongest Calabar.

    By Marian market and opposite the Council motorists especially commercial drivers park anyhow and load, what are you doing about this?

    Today, I inaugurated a task force on Calabar decongestion and market decongestion. If you go to Marian market now, you will see that we do not have where people can park cars, in a city centre like Calabar and just opposite the Calabar Municipal Council motorists park anyhow. So, we intend to decongest and return people back to the market so that we can have space for cars to park as it will also bring revenue to Council. We are in dire need of quick rehabilitation in calabar municipality and with God on our side, I am sure we are going to succeed in all of these. The incessant loading of buses and taxis by drivers at every bay has to be stopped, there is going to be orderliness in our roads.

    Bus stops will be erected at several points to act as a check and takes me to the issue of thugs. Right now, I do not know what is happening but by the time I start, the people you will see with vests will be our task force, checkmating what the drivers are doing. Commuters will go to a point and wait, where the drivers will pick them and move, instead of parking everywhere. There will be advocacy, consultations and we will be meeting with people, so that we do not just enter the streets like that. Committees will be set up to engage the people so that people will understand that most of the things they are doing are not good. We will also meet with structures and stakeholders of the taxi drivers to let them know that there would be a fine of N100,000 for defaulters who stop at undesignated spots. It is not the money we are after but we are trying to put the people in order.

    Coming to Council, even though I was not prepared this time around, I already had in mind, most of these things to do if given the opportunity and now the opportunity is here with me and I can assure you people that in six months, Calabar will wear a new look.

    What are your plans on sports?

    On sports development: I am a sportsman, an Arsenal fan and a fan of other sports. I also played football in my early days and so I intend to rehabilitate and restructure Leopard football club to a standard that would be heard within and beyond my tenure. We have started sending out Scouts to pick a point for us in the division cadre, where we can buy slots for them. I am going to put up new management in place to run the team and make it more modified, where there would be hope for our people. Sports is one thing that brings joy to the people, it also lessens communal problems and incessant restiveness.

    With God on our side, we will be able to deliver our mandate and in 30 months, there would be a change of attitude and a lot of things in calabar municipality.

  • Gov Otu is Redefining Leadership, Impacting Cross River – Barr Akiba

    Gov Otu is Redefining Leadership, Impacting Cross River – Barr Akiba

    Barrister Ekpenyong Akiba is the Special Adviser to Governor Bassey Otu on General Duties. In this interview, Barr Akiba speaks on the impact of the Calabar-based administration on the life of a common man on the streets within the past One and a half years. He also touched other issues of importance. Excerpts:

    Six to seven months of Governor Bassey Otu in power, in what way has the ‘People First’ mandate impacted the lives of Cross Riverians?

    One year and seven months counting of the People First government led by our dynamic governor, a trial-blazer, a passionate leader, a transformative governor, and a transformational mission, and above all, a Biblical general, an Apostle of Christ, socio-economic indices of Cross River have witnessed a dramatic turnaround.

    His Excellency has been able to redefined leadership in all sense of the word. He is redefining Cross River identity, Cross River status, Cross River statement, Cross River history, by ensuring that our aged long glories, our aged long pursuits, our aged long improvement, our aged long achievement, our aged long increase in all sense of the word is being, is given some elevations and introductions.

    Cross River State is naturally endowed with a lot of potentials, opportunities, resources, name it, to enhance food security, to enhance social security, enhance tourism in the country, enhance all factors of production like you can imagine.

    But over the period there have been this wining down of these opportunities. Before His Excellency came on board, Cross River State had been in the state of stagnation, political darkness, societal embarrassment, and traditional frustration.

    When your economy is on the wind down, when your environment is on the wind down, when your capacity building effort of your state is on the wind down, when your security is on the wind down, when your image is on the wind down, then there is a he problem.

    But one year and seven months of Excellency administration has been that of recovery, that of reassurance, that of reformation, that of reinvention, and repositioning of Cross River. There is no gain listing the transformational effort of His Excellency because it is visible to even the blind as someone once said, unless somebody is controlled by demonic powers or intentionally envious or going through some level of political malice with His Excellency and his team. It is only such individuals that would deny the level of transformative action of the Excellency at all level.

    Can you please shed more light on this?

    It is clear that today we have well over 60 reconstructed and constructed roads internally and externally in the state. We have been able to witness massive intervention in our infrastructure.

    The State Library edifice today is now being transformed into international standard. The civil service commission edifice is now a wonder to behold. The Governor’s Office has witnessed the Midas touch of the Governor. Today, when you pass through that place, you would be proud to be a Cross Riverian.

    The Presidential Lodge, The Governor’s House itself, Her Excellency’s office, Deputy Governor’s Lodge, Speakers Lodge are now wearing new looks. This is as a result of a deliberate policy of government to turn things around in the State.

    Recently there was a ground breaking in Ogoja local government for Government Lodge there. His Excellency is ensuring that all sectors are given maximum attention to the best of his ability and running according to time.

    So, for me, this one year running into two years of His Excellency has been full of actions, and less on words. Full of actions, less on words, because actions they said speaks louder than words.

    You would agree with me that Calabar is clean, our environment is more conducive than it was. Investors are returning, our sports have been given its pride of place.

    You would also agree with me that there are a lot of medical interventions for instance the ‘Health Outreaches’ coordinated by the Office of Her Excellency, and the Ministry of Health. As I speak to you over 2000 people are in the General hospital undergoing all forms of free surgeries, and a lot of referrals.

    Nigerian Navy and other relevant services are mobilized to ensure that health interventions are taken to the communities. His Excellency has done a lot in terms of Primary Healthcare rehabilitations because the rural dwellers had suffered a lot of crises in terms of accessing health services.

    His Excellency is doing a lot in terms of rural electrifications, because when we have rural energy people can self-survive. I say so because the man in the village would be able to do his barbing where there is electricity without bothering you for financial support. Also, the woman in the village would be able to do her business, she wants to sell her cool drinks, where there is electricity.

    The government is doing a lot in terms of rural electrification, rural roads constructions through our Rural Road Maintenance Agency, and that is because the moment we have access roads in our rural communities our farm produce would be taken to the rural areas for exportation and consumption.

    The Governor has done a lot in terms of the beautification of the city enters like Ogoja, Ikom, and Calabar, where we now have traffic light, where we now have Solar light. The beauty of Calabar is back.

    If you go to Marina Resort you would see what is going on there, in terms of investors coming in to invest multi-millions and it would remain with us.

    In partnership with NEWMAP, erosion is now being controlled without it pulling down homes as was in recent time. For instance, the Yellow-Duke Road erosion menace, which had swallowed homes and vehicles, has become a thing of the past.

    Within this one a half year of Prince Otu’s government, retirees are smiling to the banks with their pensions and backlog of gratuities being paid. Civil service relationship has been robust

    For the first time in many years, His Excellency has lifted the ban on employment. I can beat my chest to say that this the first time we have a governor that is attending to all sectors of te economy simultaneously.

    Go to the International Conference Center which was destroyed during the ENDSARS protest, it has beome a wonder to behold, the Obudu Cattle Range is being brought back to what it used to be. Contract for the total turnaround of the Cultural Centre complex has been awarded.

    There have been new foundations, new ground has been broken by the Governor, and the people are happy with him. There is a lot of review and upgrade even in the transport sector. Today you can go to the Adiabo Road that has been abandoned for more than two decades.

    On human capacity building, today we can also say that there has been a lot of skill acquisitions, for instance, there is a partnership with China Skills International to train young people in electrical electronics.

    His Excellency has been able to, within 1-year and 6-months in office, do physical interventions, seeable intervention, touchable interventions in all sectors. There is already on ground a huge investment in Agric sector

    Is it our revenue? The first time it has been control in terms of paying to government covers. First time leakages have been blocked. Our Governor, for the first, has been able to increase our internally generated revenue, for the first time after several years, and even our local government internally generated revenue today is on the increase.

    When your revenue is increase internally that your allocation from the federal government will also increase. Our Governor has shown transparency and moderation in leadership, he has shown contentment in leadership.

    But People say he is not accessible and there are dissentions among his inner circle staff. What is your take?

    This is not true. Governor Otu is the most accessible governor in Nigeria. Don’t mind the naysayers, there is no form of dissention in Prince Bassey Edet Otu’s inner circle or anywhere. I can challenge it. His Excellency is available for suggestions, for recommendations, because this government is a partnership, this government is a unified and inclusive government.

    The Governor is pragmatic. That is why he has been able to secure victory for all APC states. In the South-south, we have another governor courtesy his delivery and leadership acumen.

    It is this acumen that has caused the opposition to decamp enmass to APC in Cross River. Today, we have four House of Assembly members, I mean siting members of the PDP and Labour Party members moving into the APC. In Cross River today, we have a House of Reps member, who won under Labour Party, moving to APC. There a lot of movement from the other side to the APC simply because of the leadership the Governor is offering.

    He does everything equitably. For the first time in Cross River State lists of people that has been employed has been published with Local Government of those beneficiaries made public, you could see in every ministry you can count number of people from different LGAs. This is transparency.

    Our Excellency had made us proud and for us we will stand by such a Governor who is out to deliver without minding who would be affected. Election has come and gone, it is time to develop Cross River regardless of party and religious affiliations.

    Religious leaders are with Excellency, traditional leaders are with him too, youth leaders are with Excellency, market leaders are with His Excellency, and that is because he is considering their plight, that is because he is delivering to the people, and the people are saying thank you by following him.

    Most of the solid foundations laid by the Excellency are yet to be seen but would come to reality in some months to come. We are only appealing for patient, continuous support and continuous prayers.

    We all know that the local government has just been put in place. What should an ordinary Cross Riverian expect from the third-tier of government? 

    The local government is the closest tier of government to the people, and His Excellency has said that this is indeed the ‘Season of Sweetness’ and this can only be so if it triples down to the communities, the grassroots as such the people should be happy.

    Now, a channel of communication has been open through the local government structures in every ward in Cross River State. There are 18 local government chairmen that would be able to carry the ‘Season of Sweetness’ from the state to their local government and there counsellors in the 96 wards of the State who should be able to do so too.

    If you noticed it, there are renovation works ongoing in the 18 local government council headquarters to create conducive environment for workers to put in their best for the good of the people.

    The people should expect an increase tempo of activities at the local government with job creations and infrastructural upgrade.

    Again, let us believe that with the local government counselor in your ward, you have access to government. You may not able to see the Governor but you can always chanel your troubles through your local government Charman and Counsellors to the Governor.

    The Governor gest feedbacks from Chairmen and Counselors. So, for me, people should expect more service delivery at the grassroot level occasioned by these channels of communicators. I call them channels of rural developers and channels of rural representative.

    I call them so because they would be able to be the messenger of the people at the grassroot level. They are going to be the direct burden bearers to the people at the grassroot level.

    His Excellency has said that he derived joy for being able to conduct a credible and fair local government election in which people adjudged that this is the first time that leaders at the third-tier are actually the people that are resident with the people in the communities.

    The people should expect more ‘Sweetness’ at the third-tier, at the grassroot, at the rural communities, because now we have people that would easily transmit this sweetness to the people.

    The Obong of Calabar, His Eminence Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu-V will be hosting the 13th edition of the Utomo Obong cultural festival, which is said to be part of the tourism calendar of the State Government, on Saturday, December 21. What is your take on the event?

    Let me start by congratulating His Eminence Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu-V, the Obong of Calabar, our Treaty King, the Defender of the Christian faith, the First-Class Traditional Ruler in this country, sitting side by side with the Sultan of Sokoto, Alaafin of Oyo, King Jaja of Opopo, Oba of Benin, amongst others.

    For me the throne of Efik Kingdom is the sacred throne. The throne that commands a lot of respect, and influence, an unbreeched throne for our traditional advancement, it is an unbreeched throne for our cultural advancement; an unbreeched of our spiritual sustainability, because as a student of history I know too well that the Efik throne is a throne of grace where you can approach and obtain blessings.

    It is also a throne that can influence calamity and punishment. This is because the words of the King are words of the gods. The king is the mouthpiece of the people, he is the mouthpiece of the gods, channel of delivery.

    Where the kingdom progresses, the King cannot be exempted from that progress and where the Kingdom suffers the King cannot be exempted from that suffering. This is because the King can be said to be heart of the human being; when the heart stops breathing, the body is gone.

    So, for me, our king having reign this long is a positive progress. Our king having superintend over the Kingdom for 16 years is great news considering the past history. And, don’t forget that the Efik Kingdom and its roots transcends into other tribes. There is no how we are not all interconnected, either you like it or not.

    Obong of Calabar is a King leading from the front with many other very powerful Kings across the various tribes following, not just in Cross River but in Africa. So, we have a King that is a representation of the black race, we have a King that is a representation of the people of the South-South, we have the King that is the embodiment of distinction by virtues of history.

    That is why we must celebrate the Obong of Calabar for being protected by the Almighty to sit on that throne. It is only our creator that make Kings or whether you like it or not The King on the throne is the creation of the creator.

    We have to thank God for his life, thank God for his reign, we commend his sustenance of the Utomo Obong for 13 years running without any hitch. We thank the Obog of Calabar for this consistency, for the expansion, for the inclusion, for the sustainability of our culture and heritage which is very paramount because it enhance our values.

    Government is doing everything within its powers to continually support this seasonal celebration of the Obong of Calabar. This is because Utomo Obong is a channel of exporting our culture, our history and all that we stand for as a people. At Utomo Obong, we exhibit of our various masquerades which interprete who we are.

    Government is deliberately in support and very appreciative of the traditional institution, the court of the Obong of Calabar for sustaining this festival which also serves as a reminder of what our forebears did when they were facing extinction. Utomo Obong is a display of love and unity.

    The government of Prince Bassey Edet Otu expresses full gratitude to the Obong of Calabar, and the entire cabinet, the Otu Ekongs, and the Etuboms for this feat. We are in total support of this sustained celebration of our core values, of our culture, of our heritages, and our tradition, because it is only you that can tell your story, if you don’t tell your story nobody will tell your story the way it ought to be.

    Government is aware of the contribution of Utomo Obong to our tourism advancement, to our peace and security, development in our communities. This is because it has availed us the opportunity to relate and interact, and also contact are being exchanged. With this, the beauty of Canaan would have been unveil to others who are visitors.

    We commend His Excellency who has been to take full responsibility in stabilizing the traditional institution, including the Efik Kingdom. We believe that the Utomo Obong will continue to grow from strength to strength for the good of the people of Cross River State.

  • Why The Prolonged Power Outage In Akwa Ibom,  MD, Ibom Power

    Why The Prolonged Power Outage In Akwa Ibom,  MD, Ibom Power

    MD, Ibom Power Company Ltd; Engr. Meyen Etukudo.

    By Anietie Akpan

    For some days now, Akwa Ibom state has been in total black out causing so much hardship to residents and businesses. In the hit of this, the Managing Director of Ibom Power Company Ltd; Engr. Meyen Etukudo, threw some light on the issue.

    His words:

    Nigeria’s power sector is a value chain. What that means is that different companies have different roles. One company cannot do the work of another otherwise it will be violating its operating license.

    There are gas companies, power generation companies, transmission company and distribution companies. Gas is the fuel for some power generation companies like Ibom Power Company Ltd. Ibom power is licensed to ONLY generate electricity.

    Transition Company of Nigeria (TCN) transmits the power to distribution companies like Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution PLC.

    It is the distribution company, like PHEDC, that gives power to customers directly that’s why it’s the name of PHEDC that’s on the electricity bill not Ibom Power. So, Ibom Power cannot repair transmission lines for TCN because transmission lines belong to TCN.

    According to the MD of Ibom Power, Engr. Meyen Etukudo in a recent interview, the gas supplier to Ibom Power, Savannah energy, is conducting a maintenance on its gas pipeline so it cannot supply gas to Ibom power.

    Since there’s no gas, Ibom power plant is currently down until the gas is restored. When Ibom power is down, Akwa Ibom receives power from the national grid ONLY through the Aba – Itu transmission line. That line is old, so in the process of transmitting power from the national grid into the state, it snapped, that is, there was a disconnection.

    Since Ibom Power is down due to lack of gas supply and the transmission line that brings supply from the national grid is also down, there is no source of power supply to Akwa Ibom state, hence the power outage for some days now.

    TCN is working on the line. Ibom power is waiting for Savannah energy to complete their maintenance and restore gas supply while PHEDC is waiting for to get the power from Ibom power or ther national grid or to distribute in Akwa Ibom State.

    There is the need to re-conduct the old transmission line between Aba – Itu which is the only source of power supply from the national grid to Akwa Ibom State. The line was constructed in 1978. So it is old, that’s the reason it snaps occasionally when transmitting power.

  • #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Protest In Calabar : Matters Arising

    #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria Protest In Calabar : Matters Arising

    Barr. James Ibor, Principal Counsel, BRCI (middle), pose with  Comrade Jonathan Ugbal (R), and other arrested but released protesters.

    By Ita Williams

    The EndBadGovernanceInNigeria by a handful of protesters on August 1, kicked started their match peacefully at the Mary Slessor roundabout by Marian road Calabar,  Cross River state chanting solidarity songs despite the heavy security presence and the downpour.

    But the protest turned sour when a team of Policemen in the state swooped in on the protesters along Marian Road, and the Managing Editor of CrossRiverWatch and few others were arrested. The protest ended abruptly.

    The State Police Command through the Police Public Relations Officer (PPRO), SP Irene Ugbo confirmed their arrest and release saying, “it was not a peaceful protest. As they gathered, before we knew it, they started recruiting people walking on the street to join them and started causing problem that’s why we arrested them”. Moreover, the police said the protesters did not obtain police clearance.

    Beyond this, Pillar Today on August 1,spoke with the Principal Counsel of Basic Rights Counsel Initiative (BRCI), Barr. James Ibor, one of the victims, the Managing Editor of CrossRiverWatch and few others on the protest and arrest. Excerpts:

    The Principal Council of BRCI, Barr. James Ibor :

    In line with our resolve to provide support to all peaceful protesters in Calabar, Cross River state, we received a call few minutes past 11am or around past 12 noon or thereabout that some peaceful protesters led by Jonathan Ugbal have been arrested while peacefully assembling around Marian by MarySlessor. When we got to the scene witnesses told us that they were beaten, tortured and taken into vans out of that place.

    Further inquiry revealed that the team was led by one who has been confirmed by some of the victims of that arrest was led by Deputy Superintendent of Police, (name withheld) who is the personal security attached to the governor. He led a team of some police officers to disrupt a peaceful demonstration.

    That action is condemnable and highly reprehensible. We call on the Commissioner of Police and the Inspector General of Police to discipline the team of police officers who came and disrupted the peaceful demonstration.

    It is sad that in spite of the fact that we had over 1000 police officers on our streets and over 100 police officers along that stretch of about 500 metres, 10 unarmed peaceful demonstrators were arrested for carrying out or for exercising their constitutional duty to say no to bad governance, to say no to poverty, no to hardship, no to hunger.

    We call on the governor of Cross River State to come out publicly and tell peace loving Cross Riverians that he is not involved. Otherwise there is a wound in our heart that may cause us to begin to doubt his people’s first mantra.

    He should come out to disassociate himself. Otherwise we will associate him with what happened this afternoon (Thursday afternoon). We have resolved to continue to encourage Cross Riverians to remain calm and peaceful in demonstrating against insensitivity in government which again has been demonstrated.

    And the Cross River State government should come out as a government to condemn and expose every police officer who was involved. Otherwise we will have no option than to approach the law court. This cannot repeat itself.

    In 2021, the then governor also used his aides, his personal security guards to disrupt peaceful demonstration. We are having a repeat in 2024 and we will not allow this to continue to happen.

    Maybe the courts will have to pronounce on peaceful assembly and peaceful demonstration in times like this.

    One of the Victims, Managing Editor, CrossRiverWatch, and Coordinator, Taking Back Cross River State, Jonathan Ugbal narrating his ordeal in the hands of the police :

    My name is Jonathan Ugbal, and I am the Coordinator of Taking Back Cross River State.

    Just like every other Nigerian, we exercised our rights to freedom of expression. We gathered at Mary Slessor Avenue starting at around 8:30 am. We urged people to understand our purpose and spoke to passers-by about our reasons for being on the streets.

    We also utilized social media to spread our message. Journalists, as well as law enforcement officials from Air Force , Navy, DSS, Army, and the Police, were present and they were all cordial in their interactions with us.

    After some time speaking with the people, we decided it was time for us to disperse and we took a short walk towards Rabana by Marian, while those going in the direction of Calabar South remained behind. It was raining, and we were close to the Marian Pay Office, just after the Cross River State Sector of the Road Safety Corp.

    A team from the Counter Terrorists Unit, which is attached to the Governor’s Office and led by the Governor’s ADC, came and stopped us. Some people were scared because some of them were wearing masks and had red headdresses. They threatened that they were going to shoot anyone who runs.

    I asked those who were planning to leave not to run because they had identified themselves as police officers. Instead, I suggested that we wait and hear what they had to say. They approached us and asked us to lie on the ground, despite the rain and passing vehicles. In fact a vehicle stopped just 50 metres before the head of a protester, and after a while, a one police officer (name withheld) claimed that they had spotted a dagger earlier in our midst. And we  told him that, that dagger was brought to that place (MarySlessor round about) by a para military personnel whom we had stopped to ask what his business was and this same policeman told him (the para military man) to go away. But we told him this is the man who brought the dagger yet he left the person to go that he did not know what he was talking about and he should not implicate himself. And he left on a motorbike with two of his colleagues. As you know motorbikes have been banned in Calabar.

    He was dressed in a cotton-coloured trouser, which suggests he is a paramilitary personnel. He wore boots with two daggers one dangling by his side and the other by his boots. He wore a  special forces shirt with a red beret, and the beret had a black symbol and he was asked to leave.

    They beat the hell out of us. They tied my hands behind my back. They also beat one of us, and they said he was the one who possessed the dagger, despite the fact that he wasn’t the one. Even when we kept pointing at the one who possessed the dagger, same police officer and the rest of the counter-terrorism police officers refused to listen to us. One of the persons in our midst who was being attacked by the policemen, kept insisting and asking them why were they arresting us when the governor himself had said that people are allowed to protest, because it is their right so long as they are peaceful, and we were peaceful in our activities. They slapped the hell out of us and as I am talking to you right now, I still can’t feel my cheek properly and my jaw. They took us to the State Criminal Investigation Department (CID) where we were made to strip and we were beaten the second time again. We were stripped to our boxers and made to sit on the bare floor. After a while, they took me to the CP (Commissioner of Police), who said he had invited us, and we refused to turn up. Meanwhile the reality is that we kept calling them  (police ) yesterday (Thursday) to let them know that we are protesting but they did not answer us rather they said the CP was engaged.

    When Irene (the PPRO) said the Commissioner of Police wanted to see me, I told her I was on my way to Yenegoa and when I come back I will come and see him. On July 31st I made effort to see him, the PPRO said he was in a security meeting. I told the CP so and he said I should not worry that everybody will carry his cross and I said know.

    Luckily for us our lawyer, James Ibor Esq came and spoke with them and we were all released. But I must say this is a repetition of what happened on June 12, 2021 when the then ADC to then Governor Ben Ayade led the same counter terrorists unit to Rabana round about where we were protesting, push down a Chief Superintendent of police at that time, beat the hell out of us, planted bullets and accused us of being IPOB terrorists and that matter never went anywhere. The question now is, is it that junior officers attached to governors are now bigger than the Commissioner of Police, that Commissioner of Police will release men into the streets to ensure that protesters conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and to protect them from being attacked by goons who are usually employed by state actors?

    One of the Leaders of the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria protest, Richard Inoyo, condemned the arrest of the protesters saying:

    The claim for arresting the protesters is that they did not get Police clearance before embarking on a protest. There is nowhere in the constitution that said you must get clearance from the police before staging a peaceful protest.

    In chapter 4, section 39 and 40 of the Constitution of the federal Republic of Nigeria as amended gives Right to Freedom of Expression.

  • My 140 Days In Kidnappers’ Captivity In Zamfara, By NYSC Member

    INTERVIEW

    By Etim Etim

    In the evening of August 17, 2023, twelve Akwa Ibom persons were abducted along Sokoto-Zamfara expressway as they travelled to Sokoto. Eleven of them were young men and women reporting for their NYSC camp for the mandatory one-year service, while one was the driver of the Akwa Ibom Transport company-branded bus in which they were travelling. Months passed, and one by one, the captives were released as the abductors received huge sums of ransoms from the families of the abductees. By the middle of June, 11 abductees have been released. I have followed this story with the keenness of a brain surgeon. On November 27, I wrote a piece titled, ‘’100 days in captivity: the story of the abducted corps members’’. I followed it up with another one on December 23. I asked the authorities, including the NYSC management, to do all in their power to get them out. I argued that the government of Akwa Ibom State had a moral responsibility to intervene and facilitate their release since they were only going to serve their motherland. I also made efforts to reach the NYSC DG and hear from him on what the agency has been doing.

    Last week, I met with one of the abducted girls. It was facilitated by one of her professors. Outwardly, she looks like any other young Akwa Ibom lady, but inside, she carries a scar, an emotional wound. She sobbed intermittently as she recalled the traumatic experience in vivid details. For obvious reasons, I will conceal her identity. Her story:

    ‘’I graduated in business administration in 2021 and was called up in 2023 for the NYSC scheme. I was posted to Sokoto State and I really looked forward to serving the country. I love the NYSC scheme; the khaki trousers and white vest; the parades; the drills; the opportunity to travel to other parts of the country, meet other Nigerians and see the vastness of the country and all that. We boarded the bus at the AKTC terminus in Uyo in the morning of August 16. We were all would-be corps members; some of us were heading to Abuja and Kano, but 11 of us were going to Sokoto. We arrived Abuja in the evening and spent the night at the AKTC terminus there. Early the following morning, August 17, we set off to Kano where some people disembarked; and eleven of us proceeded to Sokoto.

    ‘’Around 7.40 pm, on the Sokoto-Zamfara expressway, we ran into a roadblock mounted by kidnappers, on both sides of the expressway. They fired sporadically into the air and ordered all 12 of us (11 would-be corps members and the driver) out of the vehicle. As we were being marched into the bush, three of us escaped, leaving nine of us (four men and five women) with the captors. We walked all night in the bush till we got to their camp where there was a hut, but we slept in the open, on the ground, in the bush, in the rain and sunshine, day and night. I was released on December 7, after spending three months and two weeks with the kidnappers in captivity. I turned 27 in captivity on Friday, December 1. It was the worst experience of my life. We were beaten every day, mostly in the mornings, with iron rod; fed once in two or three days with rice which we cooked without ingredients – just white rice no salt; no pepper; nothing. We slept on the bare ground in the bush, in the same clothes that we had on when we were captured. We had our baths once in two or three weeks in a stream about a kilometer away. A lot of us fell sick and nearly died. I was very sick too.

    On December 7, I was released with another girl – two of us. They led us back to the expressway. I was very sick and could barely walk. On the road, NYSC officials and military personnel were waiting for us. They came in armoured military vehicles, picked us and took us to a hospital in a nearby town where we spent two days before we were taken to a military hospital in Kaduna where we spent about three weeks.

    I enrolled in the NYSC scheme after I left the hospital and I am now serving at (name withheld). I understand that the bus driver was released early this year.

    My father is late, but my mother is alive, dealing in petty business. My elder brother raised money, sold things and borrowed money to pay for the ransom. He travelled to Zamfara twice, bringing the money to designated point along the expressway for the abductors. We were released randomly as the kidnappers did not even identify the abductee on whose behalf ransoms were paid.

    I thank God for keeping us alive and rescuing us from captivity. I still suffer from trauma. I feel unsafe and I’m always afraid, anxious and apprehensive. I salute the NGOs, activists and journalists like you who worked for our release. I have not been contacted by any official of Akwa Ibom State government, but I am grateful to the management of the NYSC for doing all they could to rescue us. I pray for the remaining person in captivity’’.

  • One Year in Office: Why We’re Celebrating Governor Otu – Barr Ekpeyong Akiba

    One Year in Office: Why We’re Celebrating Governor Otu – Barr Ekpeyong Akiba

    With millions of Cross Riverians rolling out the drums to celebrate Governor Bassey Otu’s one year in office, in this interview, Barr. Ekpenyong Akiba, Special Adviser to the Governor on General Duties, throws light on why the day is memorable to Cross River state people. Excerpts:

    The Governor has been saddled with the responsibility of governing Cross River State for a period of one year now. What is your assessment of his performance so far?

    My assessment so far of one year of His Excellency, the ‘People First’ Governor, Most Distinguished Senator Prince Bassey Out, in one word, is satisfactory.

    And I wish to start by saying that Senator Bassey Otu is the master strategist. He is also a true definition of a purposeful leadership. He represents leaders that know the true meaning and the importance of leadership by distinction.

    He is a true representation of leadership with capacity, leadership with capabilities, leadership that has to do with the result. Leadership that rebuilds or rekindles hope, rebuild confidence, and he is the type of leadership that reawakens trust.

    Since our governor came on board, you will agree with me that all sectors of the economy have been tempered with. Many have seen him as a magician going by the fact that despite our low financial standing as a State, his strides are massive.

    If you want to count the number of achievements of this administration within one year comparatively nationwide, he stands above all others especially when you put them side by side our income.

    When he came on board and declared ‘operation no potholes in Cross River State capital to begin with, people thought he was joking, but we can all attest to the fact that there are no potholes in the State capital again.

    He also declared war on environmental degradation and dirt, today Calabar is not just clean and is also green. There are no more refuse staring at us. There has been a lot of commendation. One of us recently said that there is no more opposition in Cross River because of how hardworking our governor is.

    We now have traffic lights, something that was forgotten about; our street lights are on, and major dilapidated or abandoned structures have been brought to live, for instance, the cenotaph; when you walk into the millennium park, you could see the ambiance is different.

    The aesthetical look of the state is highly commendable. When you talk about tourism, there has been a lot of boost. The Marina Resort today houses cinema, we now also have the fun city. The governor has done relatively well. For me, he has performed beyond expectations.

    Yes, we had expected that the governor would deliver all his campaign promises, even though we know him to be man of his word, we never expected him to do all these in one year.

    I think he has lived beyond expectations. That is because, this is just one year and he has covered all the fields. By sincere assessment, with all amount of seriousness, Our governor has touched education, our children tuitions fees are paid by the government, WAEC fees has been taken over by this government.

    There are lots of financial grants to aid education, we had renovations ongoing in schools. Issue of water has been handled. Water that was difficult to flow in our taps is now flowing in Cross River, irrespective of a few challenges here and there occasioned by vandalization which we expected will happen occasioned by long, non-usage of those water pipelines.

    We have also witnessed a lot of impact in sports. Recently, we had a Sweet Prince Marathon. We have also seen our stadium given a face lift. Many people are coming to host competitions in. U. J. Esuene Stadium because of the standardization effort of the government.

    Due to this development, various sports and games are coming up. The Governor is also doing a lot in terms of our indigenous team, Rovers Football club.

    And there is also a lot of investors who are willing to invest in the State, including in the sports sector, and that is because the Governor has been able to reposition Cross River for partnership, for collaboration, for investment, and for commitment.

    There has been massive intervention in the health sector of the state. The aged are being attended to, the motherless homes are now constantly visited, even the prisoners are not forgotten, the street children are also having their own share of the cake. His Excellency is very passionate about those on the streets.

    Government is trying to locate and re-integrate them back with their families. Some of them would be given skills to help them earn a living while some of them would venture into sports, because different children in the streets would have different interest. The Governor has also been able to impact our people in terms of youth empowerment.

    Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu is the only governor in Nigeria that has given young people opportunities to prove themselves through political appointment.

    Through the Ministry of Youth Development, his Excellency has introduced skills acquisition vision. We have partnership with the SKYRUN, a Chinese company, which is training the young people in various electrical skills. His Excellency has also done a lot on agriculture.

    So far, the Governor has been wonderful. If you talk about security, in Cross River there is calm. There’s has been a lot of intervention in the area of security. If you talk about partnership with the foreign bodies and countries for a better economy for the State.

    And you will also understand what the governor meant when he said he was coming to sustain the democratic gains right from the past regime. Today, the Obudu Ranch is being given special attention, the Calabar International Conference Center (CICC) can now hold conferences.

    Contract for the State Library has been awarded, work is ongoing. Today also our drainages are in order, our walkways in order. For me the governor has discharged himself in line with ‘People-First-Mantra’ We are very proud of the Governor.

    We are very happy that in one year, all sectors have been positively impacted. Our Carnival calendar has already been released as we speak. We are happy to be identified with His Excellency as his partners, as his aids even as he steers the ship of the leadership of Cross River.

    Our Judges today are smiling within the judiciary sector, because he came on board and said our Judges can’t be there without their official cars. And he has to issue them with their official cars.

    Recently, hoteliers were given well over N10 million to beef up their hotels. The Excellency has paid a lot of hospitals bills quietly, because he believes that the people have to remain alive to enjoy the season of sweetness. There is also a lot of intervention even in our civil service.

    If you could remember during the Labour Day, the NLC Chairman disclosed that for a very long time, Easter bonuses were not paid civil servants but the Governor came in and this year paid Easter bonuses.

    The Governor has also stated that senior citizens who have invested a lot in our state civil service cannot fail to be given their due. And that is why the governor is not leaving any stone unturned in that direction.

    For us, we are soliciting for continuous prayers and enough support for His Excellency, because it is clear that the Governor means well for Cross River and is poised to reposition the state.

    Under his watch, a more prosperous Cross River is guaranteed, and as citizens, we would continually be proud that we are in the Peoples Paradise.

    As I said earlier, no sector, I repeat no sector, has been neglected. Today we have bus stops. Commissioner for Transport recently came up with a new policy to ensure buses in the streets are branded.

    There is going to be more in terms of the new policy of government and plans. You could see the level of work done in our seat of power, the governor’s office. Everything is standardized in that office now, and the Governor is not limiting the work there to his office alone. The work is going across other offices and establishments.

    You just said something about governor declaring operation zero potholes on our roads but we were told paucity of funds was the culprits to why our roads were left unattended to. Where did your government have the funds to undertake the massive works that are ongoing?

    Well, I think it is about prioritizing our priorities and prudent management of our resources. The Governor decided to give to Crossriverians what rightly belongs to them. I want to believe that the available funds, the working funds is what the Governor is using to execute all that we are seeing.

    Even the investors are willing to invest in Cross River because governance is a continue process, and we inherited assets and liabilities from the past government. For me, the Governor is not working this hard because he is receiving more funds, he working this hard because he has the will-power to deliver on his campaign promises.

    What we are seeing is just a beginning of great things that will be happening in our ear State, and by the time we celebrate our second year in office, I want to say that there will be a lot of good news because one year is certainly not enough to define what he has in store for our people.

    We are also proud to be Crossriverians, because today the story of Cross River has change, today the face of Cross River are brighter, today the beauty of Cross River is back, today the cleanliness of the state is back. So is a thing of joy and pride..

    Q: There is this hue and cry from some quarters about the demolition of the monoliths in Zone 6 roundabouts. Sir, what would you tell Crossriverians as to the reason for their removal?

    Well, I want to say that we are witnessing massive rehabilitation, massive renovation, massive reconstruction, and reformation. When you go to that area, you’ll witness a new road being constructed by zone 6 to the tank farm where tankers lift fuel to other part of the country.

    It was as a result of professional/ experts’ advice. Relevant stakeholders were consulted included the Road Safety. If you remebr, there used to be many road mishaps along that axis because the Monoliths were obstructing motorists focus and view. Tanker drivers from the tank farms complained of obstruction and in order to eliminate and reduce road accident, they were reduced.

    We know that the Monoliths represent our history and our Identity. In terms of culture, in terms of art, in terms of even craft and creativity, which the governor and the government holds very dearly but the decision to remove them was for the good of Cross River State people.

    We are already in discussion with the MD Tourism Bureau, who has already identified two locations within the city where the monolith could be replicated. People should appreciate changes and new renovations. Most of what we have today in our capital city, for instance, were not there about 30-years ago. As the world develops, we also have to adapt to the present-day reality

  • Gov Otu Working as if His Tenure is Ending Tomorrow – HRM Etinyin Edet

    Gov Otu Working as if His Tenure is Ending Tomorrow – HRM Etinyin Edet

    HRM (Dr) Etim Okon Edet is the Chairman of the Cross River State Traditional Rulers Council and doubles as the Paramount Ruler of Bakassi local government area. In this interview, the Royal father poured encomium on Governor Bassey Otu for his stellar performance within one year but advised the Governor not to listen to gossips if he must sustain the tempo. Excerpts:

    Gov Bassey Otu is celebrating his one year in office on May 29, 2024. Do you think he has done well to warrant the celebration?

    As you know, Governor Otu, popularly known as ‘Sweet Prince’ has performed above expectation. I don’t know who gave him the ‘Peoples First’ mantra and I think he is trying to put the mantra into effective use. He is improving on and building on the foundation laid by former Governor Ben Ayade’s legacy. The steps he has taken so far about the deep seaport points to that fact he is cementing the foundation laid by Ayade.

    Gov Otu’s focus in one year is quite clear, and that is urban renewal. Look at our urban centres now wearing a new look. Work is going on everywhere as if somebody is going die or as if there will be no tomorrow. That is how a man of focus and integrity should work and that is what I like. He has done exceptionally well.

    On the 29th,  the Traditional Rulers Council will also mark his first year in office with special programme tagged ‘Thou Excelleth Them All.’ We shall talk to the press and do documentaries on the Governor. As we speak, our team are busy capturing the Governor’s strides across the State.

    The State Council of Chiefs will invite him to come and address us even if it is for fifteen minutes and we shall use the occasion to tell him a few things that we feel should be strengthened.

    It is good to do good. He was not up to twenty days in office when I approached him to appeal that the Council of Chiefs chambers be put in place, and he didn’t object. Today the State Executive Council is having its meetings there.

    if you go there today, you will see a sound proof 50kva generator, the air condition units are all working, the public address system is there, in fact, everything is there. With the renovation work that is going on in his office, he needed to use a place that would accommodate his officials and because Council of Chiefs office has been put in order, Sweet Prince is having his EXCO meeting there.

    The Governor is a visionary leader like myself. I make bold to say that I am a visionary leader. Some people want to be Chairman of State Traditional Council not knowing the position is beyond the boundaries of Cross River State.

    Just this morning, the Sultan of Sokoto called. He usually addresses me as ‘Bakassi,’ since I am the Paramount Ruler of Bakassi too. That seat does not need a local person. Our traditional rulers must not be stupid people who are illiterates. I will not support anybody that is illiterate to be a Paramount Ruler or Clan Head because the moment you become a Clan Head, there is a tendency for you to become a Paramount Ruler.

    People are just talking anyhow, and I’ve kept quiet. I don’t want to talk. I am the face of this state outside and as Paramount ruler of Bakassi, I keep the Bakassi question alive everywhere I travel to. The moment I am no more, Bakassi will not be remembered again so I am the face of Bakassi, face of Cross River, but people do not understand.

    Governor Otu has the capacity. Since the day he was elected, I knew he will perform considering his track record in the past. I know nobody is perfect but so far for this one year he is working as if everybody is going to die, as if his tenure is ending tomorrow.

    As you have rightly observed, nobody is perfect and so as a father what advice would you give to him to take his performance index higher?
    Otu should not listen to gossips. That’s what Ayade did not do. When you tell him something, he would analyze it, and he had to listen to his attorney general and those who are to advise him.

    There are greedy and very bad advisers around who are only looking for their pockets and so as a governor he should be able to detect. Some of these bad advisers do not want another person to come near the Governor

    He should not listen to gossips and should pray very hard to the God of his fathers to help him to go ahead with what he is doing without listening to gossips and he should seek to stand for the oath he took to defend the constitution and all other laws. He should obey court orders too and govern by the rule of law to make him a darling of the judiciary

    As he has started well, he should endeavour to run a government of the people for the people and not a necessarily, government of APC for the APC people. The Governor will succeed more if he considers himself Governor of all Cross River people and not of political party. There are many good people around in other political parties, he should use them just as President Bola Tinubu is trying to do at the centre for instance the appointment of Nyesom Wike As FCT Minister.

    You said you want Governor to strengthen some things when he visits your Chambers on May 29. What are those things you want to tell the Governor to strengthen?

    There are so many things that should be done in the traditional council and does not end with the renovation there are still quite a number of things for instance, he has to lift the traditional rulers of the State to be at par with their counterparts in other States. The difference between us and our counterparts is clear when you travel out for meetings.

    If you enter their palaces, you’ll begin to wonder whether the palace is a presidential villa. This is done by their state government. The truth is that there is no palace in the whole of Cross River State. It is always shameful for people to come to Cross River and all they see as palaces are our individual efforts. Those are part of the things we will talk to the Governor on.

    The traditional rulers are the owners of the state, any government that will raise the spirit of traditional rulers has raised the spirit of government. You may not understand but this is the truth. Let him raise our spirit and provide the physical support.

    Is the issue of Bakassi dead finally?
    The recovery of Bakassi into Nigeria is not possible again but the resettlement is that which has not been done and which Otu should pursue to a logical conclusion.

     

  • Gov Otu is Nigeria’s New ‘Mr Projects’, says Works Commissioner

    Gov Otu is Nigeria’s New ‘Mr Projects’, says Works Commissioner

    Hon Pius Edet is the Honourable Commissioner for works and infrastructure in Cross River State. In this brief interview, he scored Gov Otu high on infrastructural development and called on Cross Riverians to lend their full support to the Governor to encourage him to deliver the long-anticipated dividends of democracy. Excerpts:

    Q: Paucity of funds was the reason intracity roads, especially in Calabar, the State capital, was unattended to. Where did your government have the funds to do all the interventions, we are seeing going on today?Life is all about creativity. What you’re seeing is the creation and prudent management of what we have. We deploy the resources available to priority areas to the benefit of all Cross Riverians.

    Q: Can you tell us specifically the area of your core intervention?
    We’ve done a lot of interventions in Calabar, which is the State capital, some parts in Central and Northern Senatorial District. We are doing what you are bearing witness of because the government of Senator Prince Bassey Otu is focused and determined to give infrastructure to the people of Cross River state. We are not deviating from the People First focus.

    This focus is propelling us to do more. This is because of the massive votes the people gave to us during the last election. Prior to the election day, we had given them series of promises on how we want to transform Cross River state. The people had confidence in us and supported us, so you don’t expect us to do less because this government is a talk and do government. We are known for integrity.

    We have done a lot in terms of infrastructure. In the south a lot of work is ongoing. In Nyong Edem Street, for instance, we’ve done concrete road which was borrowed from Ebonyi state when the minister for works, David Umahi, was Governor there. I can tell you that what Cross River state government has done in Nyong Edem will stand the test of time.

    We did that because we belong to the mangrove forest and we are characterize by heavy downpour and as you know, asphalt is a great enemy of water, that’s why we encourage concrete technology.

    We have the raw materials here; the price of bitumen is determined by the rising price of dollars and as such we felt that the best thing to do is to implement the concrete technology because we have the materials to produce the concrete which is the stone and limestone here in Akamkpa. That’s because we don’t want to be likened to state or country who consume what they don’t produce and produce what they don’t consume.

    Having done that, the Honourable Minister for works was here and was happy, he encouraged the Governor to ensure that this is replicated in every part of the state and the governor gave assurance that he was going to do same, which is why soon after we finished at Nyong Edem we moved to Efio-Ette roundabout where the same concrete technology was replicated and I can assure you that the concrete pavement will last for 50 years.

    We also awarded contracts for rehabilitation of roads within Calabar metropolis and it was awarded to two contractors including Faithplant Global Services Limited owned by a son of the soil from Akamkpa LGA. He passed through the procurement processes and emerged as the most qualified to handle that project. I want to say here that he has done incredibly well and he has not disappointed us. A lot of streets in Calabar have been fixed by the company.

    Time will not permit me to mention one by one the numbers of road that we’ve done interventions. It runs into hundreds and that’s deliberate because we want to give particularly Calabar a facelift because when the head is rotten the entire body is rotten, Calabar is the capital of Cross River state therefore anything that affects Calabar affect the entire state. All the entries to this state are in Calabar, the water ways, the Air and land routes, so whatever people see in Calabar is what they take home.

    Recently we did something that will touch the minds of people, the construction of Adiabo-Ikoneto road which was initiated during the military era. Since that time till now there have not been any administration that deem it necessary to put one shovel of sand on that road but the government of Prince Bassey Otu didn’t look at it as a federal project rather he saw it as a project that will give economic boost to Cross River state and that’s why the State Executive Council approved its reconstruction, having done all the procurement and contractors have gone back to site and very tedious work is ongoing.

    We carefully choose the contractor, we watched his track record knowing that the contract was awarded a long time ago, so he has to understand the terrain, we believe he will do us proud.

    The pendulum of infrastructure development has also moved to the Central Senatorial District. Right now, we are in Ikom, we are doing the Sweet Mother road, Etome road, I think about 6 to 7 roads are witnessing ongoing renovations.

    We didn’t just stop there at Ikom, we are doing roads in Ugep. About 6 to 7 roads, because Ugep is a cosmopolitan city. We have also moved to the Northern Senatorial District so that everyone will feel the impact of this infrastructural drive concurrently.

    We have awarded contract for the construction of road particularly in Ogoja LGA, and again, we moved to Yala LGA and award the contract of Akriya road and bridge that was abandoned by the past government.

    We also went to the road called Wanakande otherwise known as Ukelle road, that road has been awarded and contractors are on site. That is to say that the three Senatorial District is presently feeling the impact of the season of sweetness and this is deliberate because the people of Cross River state jointly voted for us because they believe in rotation of power so that the political permutations of Cross River state will not be truncated.

    The budget we did was a very sizable budget termed “The People’s First” budget. It was targeted at improving the condition of living of the people. You know the budget is made up of revenue allocation of the state and FAAC, that’s why everything we are doing we are very careful in managing resources. Where the money comes from for all this project is centered on managerial efficiency.

    If you look at the parliamentary extension axis in Calabar, it is wearing a new look courtesy of this administration, so I can tell you that we’re going somewhere. The infrastructural decay in our dear state is gradually going off.

    I’m using this opportunity to encourage those who want to come and invest in our State during the carnival that they’re coming to see something different that wasn’t there in the last carnival. Until infrastructures are attractive, they carnival won’t make sense. Development is the commitment of human to make the environment attractive and that’s what we’re doing.

    In a nutshell, in Calabar, we have intervened in Ekpo Abasi road, New Airport road, rehabilitated Eta Agbor road, all the roundabouts in the State capital have a facelift, rehabilitated the Jebs road, Anantigha, Atamunu street, Uwanse, Edem Edem, Orok Orok, Douglas, Atekong, Bishop Monarch Street, Cecilia Ekpeyong street, Hawkins road, Marian road, Essien Town, Ediba, Spring road, Old Odukpani road, Okoroagbor, Omar Street, Akpanika street, Azikiwe street, Abasi Edem street, Yellow Duke is ongoing and many others just within one year.

    Yellow Duke has a mini bridge, we are putting up a new bridge that all the debris that pass in channel one will have no course to stand because that’s what has been causing the total overflow in that place. We are expecting that on the 29th May, that bridge will be completed for commissioning but if that does not happen, it won’t be more than one week before it is commissioned.

    The governor has also refurbished dilapidated structures. The Governor’s Office is near completion, Deputy Governor’s lodge, Speaker’s lodge, Deputy Speaker’s lodge, Ikot Eneobong Police Station, CICC has been renovated and is now hosting events, we have awarded contracts for the State Library. These projects and many others that I have not mentioned have caused our Governor to be nicknamed ‘The New Mr. Project of Nigeria.’

    Q: Can you tell us the estimates of how much has been committed to these numerous projects?I think that question should be directed to the commissioner for finance because I am the commissioner for works and I am to work, monitor the projects, supervise them and make sure that every contractor that receives our money is doing according to what is stated in the agreement.

    Q: How long will it take you to complete the Adiabo-Ikoneto road?

    A: For us, we have estimated 18 months but we can’t tell because as human you can propose and you don’t know other environmental factors that may come in to hinder all that you’ve projected.

    Q: What message do you have for some Cross Riverians who have actually not keyed in to what His Excellency is doing?

    A: The first advice is that they should appreciate God for giving them a righteous man to be in office in a moment like this. The Bible says ‘When the righteous rule, the people rejoice’. The man who is the Governor today is not a governor for APC. This administration is not propelled by partisan politics, it is a government for all political parties and all Cross Riverians.

    Gov Bassey Edet Otu may have been given a ticket in a party called APC, but we should understand that a political party is only a vehicle that drives someone to his destination. He is like a man who climbs a tree full of ripe mango, he will not be able to eat the mango alone, in fact, his weight alone on the mango will make all the ripe mangoes to fall and everyone will eat, that’s to tell you that he is a Governor for all.

    So, I urge all Cross Riverians to support him. Everyone should come on board with ideas that will make us to be proud of our State. No man is an island of knowledge nor reservoir of wisdom. Let ideas be shared, bring it on the table so that we can jointly develop Cross River state.

    For those that our projects have reached their axis, congratulations to you, and for those that are yet to benefit from the Governor’s big heart, please be patience, I can assure you that the government of Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu is like a movement, it will definitely move and get to your destination and you’ll feel the impact of this government.

    For Cross Riverians outside the state, please look for ways to bring development into your State because we want to be one of those States contending in terms development, let people see us as a developed State and we must be creative too because it is only creativity that can make us become a developed State.

  • INEC Insists Nigeria’s Electoral System Recording Significant Progress

    INEC Insists Nigeria’s Electoral System Recording Significant Progress

    The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has said that despite challenges, the country’s electoral processes were recording significant improvements as compared to the past.

    The Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for Bayelsa State, Barr Obo Effanga, who said this in Calabar, during a chat with Journalists, said future elections would be better.

    Effanga rated the 2023 elections as more credible as compared to that of 2015 in which smart card readers were used for accreditation but which later ended up with incidence forms/manual accreditation when politicians complained about inability of the card readers to function maximally.

    He said results from some States which decided on incidence forms may not have been based on actual accredited persons who ought to have voted.

    “In 2015 about eighty million registered voters where captured while in 2023 the figure increased to about ninety three millions registered voters. This signaled a positive step towards actualizing a peaceful and sustainable democratic process.

    “For the first time in our democratic struggles, jumbo figures did not find space in the final results announced for 2023 polls, and this positive approach should act as a consolation inspiration that we are taking positive steps toward actualizing a sustainable democratic process,” he stated

    The REC, who also advocated civic and voter education for electorates called on elective office seekers not to always condemn results of electoral body when they face defeat.

    Barr Effanga lamented that a situation where elective office seekers would rush to condemn the results of every electoral process should not be interpreted to mean that Nigeria is not making progress towards deepening its democratic processes