By: Akamba Jude, CRS-MOI Officer reporting from Ministry of New Cities Development.
The Governor of Cross River State, Sen (Prof.) Ben Ayade has declared that he created the the Ministry of New Cities Development because of his vision to take Cross River State from a ‘Third world’ to a ‘First World’,State.
Gov. Ayade stated in an interview segment on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), tagged ‘One on One with Ben Ayade,’ where he spoke on his recent mission with President Muhammadu Buhari to the just concluded 33rd African Union (AU) Summit held in Adis Ababa- Ethiopia.
The Governor said that, to make his vision a reality, there is need for the creation of a connect between Cross River State and the Northern part of the country through construction of the multi-laned Super Highway running across the entire State and the Bakassi Deep Sea port.
He maintained that, this will create a linear and horizontal growth in the economy of the State, which naturally, will lead to the sprouting up of new cities in the State, hence the creation of the Ministry of New Cities Development.
The Governor also said, one of the reasons why he created the Ministry, is to facilitate the establishment of industrial platforms along the super highway flanks so as to allow every other segment of the society to fit into the commercial and tourism hub of the State .
“To progress just like every other parts of the developed world, while making deliberate efforts to silence the guns, I created an environment for growth to occur, that is what I see, and I see the sincerity of purpose, I see commitment…”,he enthused.
Governor Ben Ayade also said, he has set up many industries and the intent is for the industries to serve as an off- take mechanism to encourage young people to explore the tourism and agricultural potentials of the State.
When asked on the level of work at the Bakassi Deep Sea Port, the Governor explained that, the State has finished the stage of design, informing that,Cross River State has gotten the Outline Scale Approval as well as the Ministerial approval from the Federal Government based on State procurement laws; including the Outline Business Case (OBC) for the project; approved nine (9) best companies in the world as Consultants for the Fuff Business Case (FBC); and after the bid process, we will go back to the Federal Executive Council (FEC) for the final approval of the project.
He maintained that, the Deep Sea Port and Super Highway projects are the first projects that have followed proper sequence of approval accorded by law.
Sir Ayade lamented over the delay of the project from the Federal Government side despite the huge economic benefits the project will bring to the country.
Giving lights on his many political appointments, the Governor pointed that the purpose of his government, is the welfare and security of the people and so what is most important for him is not the signature, big infrastructural nor fiscal projects, but humanity, that is why he tries to expand the government beyond carrying capacity and logics for the purpose of decentrating circulation of resources in the State.
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