By CrossRiverWatch admin
Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State on Thursday met with President Buhari to iron out issues surrounding the delay in the kick of the 240km Super Highway from Calabar to Obudu in the northern part of the state.
The governor also used the occasion to kick against the privatization of public assets arguing that government must still maintain substantial control over some critical sectors of the economy to safeguard the interest of the citizenry rather than selling public properties to a few individuals.
He spoke with State House correspondents after meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential Villa, Abuja.
It will be recalled that President Buhari cancelled his scheduled visit to the state last month to perform the ground breaking ceremony for the super highway over concerns that the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project has not been done.
The State government promised that pending issues will be resolved and the President will return to perform the ceremony.
Having addressed the pending issues, Governor Ayade said he had gone to Abuja to give the President progress report and get a new date for the visit.
“Basically, that is one of the reasons why I’m here. There were wrong speculations in the press linking the shift in the visit to politics, linking the shift to so many other considerations other than things that were real.
“Basically, what happened was that there were environmental issues, which was dully raised by the Ministry of Environment. And all those issues and concerns that were expressed have been addressed.”
Governor Ayade added that it was wrong for the government to take public assets and put into the hands of few people in the name of privatization.
“Finally, it is important to emphasize that privatization which has characterized the Nigerian economy for a long period is totally unacceptable, where government takes public assets and sell into the hands of few people.
“That is why I am very proud of Mr. President. Our President understands this very well and I’m sure that in the course of time, we will understand what he is doing.
“And when the results of his actions begin to manifest, Nigerians will know that he has come prepared and committed to take us to the path of glory. I must confess he is a very humble president.”
The Governor assured that President Buhari will soon return to the state for the ground-breaking ceremony of the Super highway project.
The Spokesman to the President, Mr. Femi Adesina told CrossRiverWatch on the phone that he cannot give details of the visit because it was a private visit between the President and the Governor.
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