By Godwin Ajom
“If you are patriotic, you won’t take up arms against your neighbor. If you are ‘Thinking Cross River’, there is no way you will see someone trying to enter your neighbor’s house and you won’t call the police. We are just trying to promote peace, promote unity, and promote peaceful coexistence.”
The above is the exact statement of the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bassey Otu, Mr. Edem Darlington, in an initiative to stir the spirit of patriotism among Cross Riverians.
The initiative, ” Think Cross River” is aimed at building the good image of the state and restoring its lost glory.
The Deputy CPS also averred that, it is also to drum support for Governor Bassey Otu in his ‘The People First’ agenda.
Darlington disclosed this to newsmen in Calabar during the week where he said the drive is to see a united, peaceful, secured, tourism destination, love for one another, prosperity, collective responsibility and social justice for all, that translates into growth and development in Cross River.
His words: “If you are patriotic, you won’t take up arms against your neighbor. If you are thinking Cross River, there is no way you will see something going wrong around your neighborhood and you won’t call the security agents. If you are Thinking Cross River, there is no way you will see someone trying to enter your neighbor’s house and you won’t call the police. We are just trying to promote peace, promote unity, and promote peaceful coexistence.”
“It is no news that Cross as a state has very friendly people. We are naturally very hospitable; and so that is the very first attraction for any serious business or investor. For a long while we have remained the most peaceful state in the country; and so naturally, Cross River is the darling of every investor who actually wants to put his money and make real gains from it.
“So this tool is to promote everything about Cross River, and also, very importantly, to call on all Crossriverians to join hands with the governor, Sen. Bassey Otu and promote what he is doing, support the current administration and also promote everything that has to do with Cross River State.
He seized the opportunity to commend President Bola Tinubu and Governor Bassey Otu, for their strides in infrastructural development, payment of gratuities and ensuring relative peace and security in the state and country. He lauded Otu for putting the people first in his agenda and delivering on his promises.
The two-term Chairman of Association of Cross River Online Journalists (ACROJ), assured Cross Riverians that they will see more deliverables from the government in no distant time as more dividends would be unveiled. Adding that the current administration is willing to make life easier across the three senatorial districts of the state.
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