By Kingston Obung
Calabar
Cross River state government has said that with last week’s signing of a construction agreement with China Harbour Company, preliminary works on the Bakassi Deep Seaport would begin soon.
Christian Ita, chief press secretary/senior special assistant to Governor Ben Ayade, who spoke to our reporter yesterday, said the signing of the said agreement has closed mouths of ‘doubting Thomas,’ who, he said, had taken it upon themselves to ridicule the development strides of the Ayade-led government.
The Governor’s aide called on all Cross Riverians to join hands with government to ensure the vision becomes a reality, adding that “the Bakassi Deep Seaport project will serve the North-east part of the country as well as Chad Republic and Niger.”
Governor Ayade had expressed optimism, during the contract signing ceremony, that when the Bakassi Deep Seaport, the superhighway and the power generation projects are completed, Cross River would be one of the investment hubs of Africa, and that his administration had been in desperate need of creating an alternative source of income for the state in spite of the setback.
He, however, said “the state had been treated unfairly in the Nigerians project through several ways of marginalisation and unjust treatments,” regretting the ceding of Bakassi peninsula, loss of 76 oil wells as well as the delisting of Cross River from the 13% derivation.
“The situation has reduced the state to lack and want in body and soul and a weeping child of the nation. Bakassi Deep Seaport will create a new narrative in merchandise and International trade in efficient ort management system.”
While commending President Muhammadu Buhari for his support for Cross River, the Governor urged both the central and north eastern parts of the country to key into the projects and take them as their own because of the short distance it would take to access the port.
