Cross River Indigenes In Abuja Present Ayade With 13 Point Demand

By CrossRiverWatch admin

The Cross River Indigenes Association (CRIDA) in Abuja has called on Governor Ben Ayade to declare a state of emergency on roads in the state and complete the 16-year old Liaison Office abandoned at the Central Business District of Abuja by previous governments through a Public Private Partnership (PPP) arrangement.

Making the demands in a 13-point communique issued at the end of the Association’s monthly meeting for the month of June, CRIDA said the poor state of the roads had led to loss of revenue for the state as travelers from the northern parts of Nigeria now preferred to reroute their journeys through neighboring Enugu, Abia and Ebonyi states.

The communique which was signed by the President of the Association, Barrister Lekam Okoi, also called on Governor Ayade to intervene in various inter-communal clashes in parts of the state to put an immediate stop to the decimation of the state’s active population.

While congratulating Governor Ayade on his victory at the April 11, 2015 polls, CRIDA called on members of the National and State Assemblies to work in total cooperation with the governor to bring the much desired development to Cross River State.

The Association commended Governor Ayade on the initial steps he has taken to address the challenges that existed before his assumption of office, especially the payment of of outstanding salaries and release of several buses to ease transportation difficulties in Central and Southern Senatorial Districts.

Noting that governance is a continuous project, the Cross River Indigenes Association called on Governor Ayade not to abandon on-going projects initiated by previous administrations, especially the Calabar International Conference Center, the Calabar Monorail, the Institute of Management and Technology, Ugep, and the Summit Hills, among others.
Commending Governor Ayade on his choice of Town Hall Meetings as a means of getting undiluted information from Cross Riverians, CRIDA urged the governor to include Abuja as one of the venues for such meetings as this would give Cross Riverians in Abuja Federal Capital Territory and environs an opportunity to contribute their quota to the governance of the state.

On the 76 oil wells which the federal government ceded to Akwa Ibom State in 2011, the Association called on the governor to seek a political resolution of the issue to increase funds accruable to the state.

Pledging to work with the governor, CRIDA called on Ayade to explore the possibilities of a more robust relationship with the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with a view to attracting more quality projects to the state.