Former Governor Peter Obi Berates Ayade Over Superhighway

By Jeremiah Archibong and Jonathan Ugbal

Former Governor of Anambra state, Peter Obi has said the decision of Cross River Governor, Senator Ben Ayade to borrow for the proposed 260kilometers superhighway is a misplaced priority due.

Obi stated this Monday in Lagos while delivering a speech on the Nigerian economy on ‘The Platform’ where he lampooned the idea of borrowing for ideas he said will not help the country.

Though he did not mention Ayade directly or Cross River State, Governor Ayade and the Cross River State Government have continuously made headlines over the proposed SuperHighway which forms part of the Governor’s “Signature Projects.”

Obi probably unclear on the funding model of the project said that: “You go to the states, it is the same thing. People are borrowing to do Superhighway, Superhighway to where?

“Lets fix the small road uuu, Superhighway to where?

“When we are saying that we don’t have small rural roads to go to their village!

“That is what we need! If we can get that, that is enough for the mean time, that is enough but they are borrowing. They are borrowing to do flyover.”

Ayade had announced intentions to build the road on May 29, 2015 and following a ground breaking ceremony performed by Nigeria’s president, Muhammadu Buhari, in October that same year, work stopped due to concerns over alleged land grabbing, encroachment into forest reserves, the Environmental Impact Assessment among others.

The project has continued to generate controversy with the state accusing relevant authorities of politicking with the state’s future.

But the federal government, in 3 public fora announced that the Environmental Impact Assessment carried out by the state does not meet the basic requirements.

Below is the video obtained by CrossRiverWatch