by crossriverwatch admin
The Cross River State Government is taking serious measures to stop the plan by some companies operating in the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort to relocate owing to adverse business environment.
Mr. Rekpene Bassey, the Cross River State Security Adviser stated this in Calabar at the weekend when he played host to Mr. Akande Bamidele, the Comptroller of Customs for the Cross River and Akwa Ibom State Command who paid him a courtesy call.
Mr. Basasey who was reacting to the Comptrollers speech that many companies operating at the Tinapa have served a sixty- day notice of their plans to vacate the Business and Leisure Resort said the government is aware of the development and is taking measures to address the situation.
“Tinapa is dear to us that is why we have been investing so much to keep the place going and we are doing everything to address the complaints of the traders and I can assure you that before the sixty days elapse, everything would be addressed”.
According to Rekpene, “Tinapa is a cash cow and a fertile ground for generating employment and boosting of the local economy and as such requires every Nigerian and institutions to give the initiative the needed support.
“Tinapa requires sustained, qualitative and institutional support devoid of bureaucracy to survive and flourish; the Cross River State Government is assiduously working to upgrade and add value to the infrastructure and operational environment around the Resort that is why it has been handed over to AMCON to manage”
He also called on the Nigeria Customs to stem the influx of arms and ammunition into the country; a development that is causing severe acts of insecurity that are threatening the corporate existence of the country. “This situation paints an apocalypse picture as we approach the 2015 general election; by my estimation, a combination of factors, poverty, porous borders and influx of arms and ammunition account for nearly 60% of Nigeria’s security concerns today”.
The State Security Adviser called for the establishment of what he calls an Independent Border Patrol Agency to work hand in hand with other security agencies like the Nigeria Customs Service, Department of State Security Services, Nigeria Police and the National Intelligence Agency to stem the tide of insecurity in the country.
Mr. Bamidele, the Controller of Customs said business activities at the Tinapa and the Free Trade Zones are being severely affected by the bad roads that lead to Calabar and the shallow channel of the Calabar Sea Port which makes it difficult for bigger ships to berth at the Port.
He said the low business activities in Tinapa have led to many traders operating at the Resort giving notice of relocation. “Unless something is urgently done many traders would soon vacate the Resort and that would worsen the situation”.
He stated that the Nigeria Customs play a key role in Nigeria’s socio-economic development through revenue generation.
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