Imoke tasks contractors on projects’ completion
FROM ANIETIE AKPAN, CALABAR
THE firms handling the construction of roads in the four Government Reservation Area layouts of Ikot Effanga, Ikot Ekpo and Ikot Nkebre in Calabar Municipality, Cross River State, have been urged to complete their jobs on schedule.
Governor Liyel Imoke, who gave the advice while speaking with the Managing Director of Nairda Nigeria Limited, Mr. Guy Peleg, during a site meeting at the premises of the company at Ikot Effanga, added that modalities have been made available for the contracts to be completed in October 2012. .
While briefing Imoke, the projects’ consultant, Mr. Bassey Usang, disclosed that they have addressed most of the challenges affecting the layout, especially in Estate One, adding that Radio Nigeria station in the area will have to be relocated to some other place.
Usang said certain portions of the drains threatened by erosion have been re-designed as most of the problems observed have been taken care of while the Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Lands and Housing have been working in partnership to address issues concerning litigation.
Source: The Guardian, 27th October 2011.
C’River community threatens to confiscate Obasanjo’s farm
Written by Mudiaga Affe, Calabar
Thepeople of Ekong Anaku in Akamkpa Local Government Area of Cross River State have threatened to confiscate the Obasanjo Farm if they are not adequately compensated for the loss of economic trees in the large expanse of land.
The community alleged that when the land was acquired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his oil palm project when Donald Duke was the state governor, the landowners were not involved.
A community leader and one of the persons at the forefront of the struggle for compensation, Mr. Celestine Awor, said after the inauguration of an oil mill by Governor Liyel Imoke on Tuesday in company with Obasanjo and Duke.
He said in spite of the loss of economic trees, some of the indigenes engaged to work on the farm had not been allowed to reach the managerial level or compensated for the loss of their land.
Awor said though the company was expected to bring development to the community, the people must be properly integrated in its running.
He said, “We are talking about proper compensation for our economic trees that have been destroyed. Before, this place was like a canopy tree even the sun could not touch the ground. So many things have been destroyed and so we have to be compensated for the economic trees.
“We also have to be paid our rent as a people, because we are entitled to it. These are some of the entitlements we are talking about beyond social responsibilities like roads, electricity, potable water, education for the children and employment opportunities.
“They have been fair to some extent in terms of employment. At the unskilled labour level they have employed some of our people, but at the skilled labour level very few of them have been compensated. My problem is that the few that were employed at the skilled level are stagnated at the supervisory positions; they have not been promoted to the managerial positions and that is to say we are beginning another struggle.”
He said by December if nothing was done to compensate the people, they would seize the oil palm and mill.
Obasanjo, who is the Chairman of Obasanjo Holdings Limited, said the farm was a product of a challenge he received from Malaysia as well as effort of the community.
He added that he would study the request of the community because there was a social responsibility to improve their lots through employment and provision of social amenities.
Source: Punch, 26th October 2011.
Cross River plans palm oil refinery, to employ 7,000 workers
Calabar - Gov. Liyel Imoke of Cross River has announced plans by his administration to establish a palm oil refinery that will employ some 7,000 workers.
He made the announcement on Saturday in Calabar while featuring in a radio programme tagged “Two Hours with the Governor” produced by Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC).
Imoke said a foreign investor had indicated interest to set up the processing plant that would refine palm oil into vegetable oil and other edibles.
He said the establishment of the refinery was in line with the commitment of his administration to to ensure food security in the state.
He said the plant would occupy 50 hectares
`The governor explained: `I saw the company in Singapore that will come and put this refinery in place.
“In one location alone, the company employed 16,000 people, meaning that if it is here in the state, it will engage as many as 7,000 Cross Riverians, thereby reducing drastically our unemployment rate.
“The state is blessed with agricultural produce; all we need to do at this point in time is to ensure that they are converted into industrial purposes rather than just leaving them for household and immediate use; we need to think of tomorrow.’’
The governor also announced that he had laid the foundation stone of Portside Industrial Park at Esuk Utang in Calabar, where industrial activities were currently taking place.
He lauded the commitment of the private sector in complementing the industrial efforts of the government, adding that partnership with the private sector would ginger confidence in the system.
Imoke said the private sector had already invested N800 million in the portside project at a period when the government had yet to invest in it.
He solicited the cooperation of the people of the state in regulating the activities of tank farm operators at the state industrial areas, adding that orderliness must be introduced to the system to promote investment. (NAN)
Source: Vanguard, 22nd October 2011.
Pirates kill 2 in Calabar, injure others
By Johnbosco Agbakwuru
Calabar – No fewer than two persons were feared dead in a fight between pirates and staff of an oil company on the Calabar, Cross River and Oron, Akwa Ibom states’ waterways.
The incident happened the same day the Cross River State Government pleaded with the Chief of Naval Staff, Vice Admiral Ola Ibrahim to intervene in the incessant attacks of pirates, militants and other criminal elements at the waterways in Bakassi Local Government Area of the state.
The two oil workers, who were reportedly on routine duty to lift oil from offshore, met their untimely death on the high sea, as they were attacked by pirates in a speed boat heading towards the oil installa-tions with empty jerry cans to scoop crude oil.
It was gathered that the oil workers had attempted to ward-off the hoodlums by raising alarm, beckoning on marine police to intervene.
Pandemonium was said to have broken out when the pirates tried to seize the oil boat and the oil workers who got no help from the marine police abandoned the boat and dove into sea. They were trying to swim for the sea shore.
It was gathered that two of the oil workers, who could not swim, drowned in the sea.
The survivors were later taken to the General Hospital Calabar, where they were admitted.
Source: Sun, 13th October 2011.
Imoke's Second Term Bid
Otei Oham
IT was true when a famous writer of blessed memory, Harvey Firestone, said, 'You get the best out of others when you give the best of yourself.' Calvin Coolidge, another writer crowned it this way: 'No person was ever honoured for what he received. Honour has been the reward for what he gave.'
These sayings are quite fitting in describing the person of the Governor of Cross River State, Senator Liyel Imoke, who is now being rewarded with calls to re-contest next year's governorship election, and re-seek the mandate of the people to govern the State for another four years, for the fulfillment of the numerous campaign promises he made to the people.
The Governor is not being rewarded with these calls for what he has received, but for what he has given the people across the 18 Local Government Areas of the State. Everywhere in the State, the impact of his Administration, which has now spanned three years, is being felt by the people, irrespective of their political, social and cultural affiliations. No wonder those who have endorsed the Governor for another four year term beginning from 2012 include members of political parties other than the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, which is the party of the Governor.
They, alongside members of non-Cross River State communities resident in the State are witnesses to this transformation and have agreed that it is only a man with vision, foresight and characteristics of a statesman, such as Governor Imoke that can change the face of the State in three years. Of course, the Governor is not a magician. He has only achieved this through selfless service and commitment to duties.
One thing must however be stated clearly here: That those behind these calls are not imaginary and personalities without credentials as being argued in some quarters. These are distinguished Cross Riverians, who have either served the State in lofty positions as partners to this current makeover of the State or are witnesses to the numerous developmental changes in the State. These are men and women, who through their sight have seen and are appreciating what they have seen. These ones are different from those who will see but pretend not to see the revolutions being institutionalized in the areas of agriculture, health, road constructions, education, water supply, sanitation, wealth creation and employment, tourism and investments, manpower development, environment and public finance management.
These accomplishments are also being appreciated by hordes of visitors to the State, who are eyewitnesses to this wind of change blowing across the State. Some of them have lived with the people of the State for a while, have compared the transformation of the State with their States', and are now wishing they could exercise their franchise in Cross River to vote for the Governor to continue in Office.
Of particular note is the endorsement of the Governor by Cross River State members of the National Assembly, who have noted with pride the rapid changes in the State, in the last three years. They have argued that if the Governor could do this much in less than four years, then he would double, even triple these strides if given a chance in another four years. Lawmakers across the Local Government Areas in the Central Senatorial District of the State are also among those endorsing the Governor for another term in office.
The Cross River communities in major cities in the country are also conscious of the Governor's accomplishments that they have at different times declared support for the Administration and risen up in defense of its policies and programmes.
Other groups that are also calling for this continuity in governance are a Calabar- based socio-political group, Calmun Consultative Assembly, which is an amalgam of bodies like Unity Circle, Youths in Action, Progressive Youth Movement and the Progressive Forum, and Stakeholders of the Northern Senatorial District of the State. At their various gatherings, the groups have vowed to vote massively for the continuity of the Project Liyel/ Efiok 2012 Mandate due to their conviction that the duo is capable of delivering on their mandate.
The Boki, Ikom and Yakurr caucuses of the PDP are also in the list. At Wula, where the Boki stakeholders, comprising members of the academia, political class and business community met, the people listed the responsive style of leadership of the Governor and the adoption of the seven-point agenda of the Administration as factors arousing their love for Governor Imoke.
In a statement by Ikom Caucus of PDP, the people also endorsed the candidacy of the Governor for the 2012 governorship election. They described him as 'an effective and humane leader, who has distinguished himself as a great manager of men and friend of the rural folk- a man who has shown tremendous loyalty to his friends, generosity and goodwill to all, whose charity and humanity is not in doubt; a man of dexterity, sagacity and foresight, who has made Cross River State proud.'
At Ugep, where the Yakurr people converged to back this continuity, the Yakurr people specifically thumbed up for the Administration for involving sons and daughters of Yakurr. They are also pleased that the Administration has among others, constructed and renovated over 15 Primary Health Centres in the Local Government Area, Nko-Agoi bridge, Ekori -Beach road, Ekori-Imabana road, Idomi-Adim road, Inyima-Ekpeti-Asiga road and the renovation and provision of medical equipment to Ugep General Hospital.
They are also appreciative to the Government for providing free medical services for children under five years and pregnant women, commencing work at the College of Technology, Ugep, renovating Secondary Schools across the Area with provision of Laboratory/ Information Communication Technology equipment, standard tables, chairs and classrooms, and completing several rural electrification projects across the Local Government Area.
Their conviction is no doubt a reflection of the feelings of the people of the state in other Local Government Areas, who in the coming weeks are planning to come out in their numbers to declare support for this continuity.
The Governor has indeed driven transformation to all communities in the State, and responded to the yearnings of the people by improving on the infrastructure he met on ground, on assumption of office.
However, there are still some, although an insignificant portion of the people, who are hard to please and do not believe in Liyel- Efiok 2012 ticket. They are doing so for selfish reasons. They see Government as a platform for self-enrichment. And they are not pretending about it. They have failed to realize that true governance is by consolidation and sustenance of policies that leave behind lasting legacies.
While they are not to be condemned for their dispositions, there is urgent need for them to reflect on the policies and achievements of past Administrations of the State, and compare them with what has been recorded in three years in order to see the need to support this Administration in words and in deeds, to help propel Cross River State to enviable heights.
Source: Daily Champion, 27th September 2011.
Liyel Imoke: The Quilt and the Rainbow
By Etowa Okoi
The association of the rainbow with new beginnings, with promises, with visions of peace and prosperity is widely held. A quilt on the other hand, is many patches of many different colours that are worked into a harmonious design. A quilt is made from rags, from cast off clothing and from bits and pieces of material that are too small to make a regular article of clothes. In legend, the Leprechaun hides his gold at the end of the rainbow, and anyone who finds it, may keep it.
These two powerful metaphors reflect, in their different imagery, the strategic direction of the administration of Governor Liyel Imoke. The agenda Imoke brought into office in August 26, 2008 consisted of a Seven-Point (Rainbow Number) Development Agenda, and a readiness to take the government to those who need it most, especially the rural poor, the urban poor , and other (quilt) on the lower rungs of the socio-economic ladder. This broad but holistic agenda was first articulated in 2007, and reiterated in 2008 following Governor Imoke’s victory in an Appeal Court ordered rerun of the gubernatorial elections.
This hybrid agenda is responsible for the fundamental transformation of the socio-political architecture of Cross River State in the years following Imoke’s election. Now with barely a year to the expiration of his first term mandate, no rational critic can ignore or fault the fact that Governor Imoke has fulfilled, to a very large extent, the promises of his mandate and a call to service
In education for instance, reforms at all levels have been matched with award of scholarship at undergraduate and post-graduate levels. Funds have been provided for the upgrade of facilities in tertiary institutions. This has facilitated the accreditation of courses for academic programmes. Commercialization and mechanization programmes in agriculture have resulted in the empowerment of more than 3,000 households through parcellation of farmlands of high economic value. The Governments free health policy for pregnant women and children, and the Conditional Cash Transfer programme for poor households have proved effective in addressing lack of access to health services and economic and educational opportunities.
Massive provision of infrastructure in rural areas, especially roads, electricity, water and bridges is counterbalanced with the reconstruction and maintenance of urban roads and other infrastructure. New intra-urban roads are under construction together with the development of new residential layouts and neighbourhoods.
One of the most significant achievements of these past three years is the computerization of the operations of all MDAs, automation of Internally Generated Revenue streams. Regular monitoring and evaluation of on-going projects has ensured adherence to specifications and enhanced value for money.
The Government’s ambitious greening programme, as part of a broader climate change agenda, is on course. Significant mileage has been added to it with the planting of 500,000 trees, and strengthening of an existing ban on logging. Five urban development authorities have been equipped with the appropriate equipments to maintain infrastructure and ensure clean and green cities. Prompt waste evacuation system, constant desilting of drainages has helped in checking floods and erosion menace.
Bureaucratic reforms have created a well motivated and more productive/work force. Staff morale has been greatly boosted with car loans, staff housing, better work conditions, regular and prompt payment of salaries, and other welfare issues. Most office complexes have been renovated and affixed with new signages.
Governor Imoke started his phenomenal administration on a very strong footing, indeed, in terms of the breathe and dimension of his vision, it was like he jumped the gun so to say. In terms of his developmental spectrum for Cross River State, Imoke is clearly living in the future.
As the state zeros in on next year’s elections, Governor Imoke is still the right man for the job within the contemplation of the Nigerian Constitution, and most importantly the yearnings of an overwhelming majority of Cross Riverians.
The administration’s Energy City Project, Calabar Modern Market Project, Calabar International Conference Centre, the Calabar Rivera Club, the expansion of the Margaret Ekpo International Airport and a Specialist Hospital that will serve as a referral centre in the subregion.
The Governor’s intervention in health manifested in the provision of free health care for pregnant women and children under five (5) and the upgrading of health facilities to meet international bench-marks. These include general hospitals, primary health care centres, and health institutions for the training of health workers and equipping the health facilities with modern health equipments.
In three (3) years Governor Imoke has fulfilled the promises he made to the electorate, and discharged the burden of his overwhelming mandate. This has engineered confidence in his leadership, according him unprecedented popularity and connected him with the electorate. He has shown that he is a leader who cannot only be trusted but who is worth doing business with. It has always been said that the value of a leader is his ability to strike the right chord in people and also empower them to attain their basic needs in life and assure them of a glorious future.
Source: Sun, 27th September 2011.
Senate Leader decries state of federal roads
By Mudiaga Affe
Senate Leader Victor Ndoma-Egba has expressed concern over the deplorable state of the Calabar/Ikom/Ogoja Road and other federal highways in Cross River State.
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He said in an interview in Calabar on Saturday that he would not rest until the roads, especially the Calabar/Ikom/Ogoja Road, were rehabilitated
The lawmaker, who noted that the World Bank had taken over the Calabar/Ikom/Ogoja Road rehabilitation, lamented that procurement process had become a source of worry to him and the state government.
Ndoma-Egba said, “For now, that road is my life because my political life depends on it and I have staked everything. I have staked my reputation, I have assured our people that the road will be done.
“I was in touch with the Federal Ministry of Works and I spoke with the Schedule Officer, who is in charge of World Bank project. Part of the Ogoja/Ikom Road has been taken over by the World Bank and you know that the World Bank procurement processes are quite different from our own procurement processes.
“I was discussing the road two days ago with His Excellency( Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke) and he drew my attention to the normal challenges of procurement under the World Bank. It is going to be slow, it is going to be tedious but at the end of the day, what we will get will be solid because it is going to be built not to our own local standard but to World Bank standard.”
The lawmaker appealed to the people to exercise patience as the Federal Government and the World Bank would soon complete the procurement process.
He added, “All I will say is that the patient dog eats the fattest bone. So I believe that sooner than later, the Federal Government will complete the procurement process with the World Bank.”
Ndoma-Egba added that another part of the road “is already part of the African Development Bank- sponsored project.”
He said, “If you are driving on the Ogoja/Ikom Road at the Mbok junction, if you look right you will see a very neatly done road, which is part of Trans African Highway.”
Source: Punch, 22nd August 2011.
$15bn Lagos-Calabar rail-line underway
By LOUIS IBA
The Federal Government has demanded a review of the proposed Lagos to Calabar and Maiduguri to Lagos railway line project such that it operates as an ‘unsolicited’ Public Private Partnership (PPP) deal.
A US firm, New Dawn Development International Limited (NDDIL) had put forward the idea for the project to the Federal Government saying it would require about $15billion to bring it on stream, and that it was prepared to source for the funds from banks and finance institutions from the United States of America if it gets the government nod.
The project, already, has received the backing of the Eastern Professionals’ Forum who said it had “huge economic benefits and inherent potentials for advancing relations between the United States and Nigeria” and could also act as the greatest catalysts that will boost transportation, trade and investment between the eastern and western part of the country and also a link between the northeast and southwest zones of Nigeria.
A letter signed by Mansur Ahmed, Director general, Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission, a regulatory body which is under The Presidency, said “the unsolicited proposal must of necessity thoroughly evaluate the economic and financial parameters of the project and will highlight the commercial viability of the project and outline the most effective PPP model for the project including an appropriate financial model/risk allocation matrix between the public and private sector.”
Mansur said government welcomed the idea of a private railway transportation project, but that it would only attend to the proposal if tailored and resubmitted to meet the unsolicited PPP proposal guidelines provided by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission.
The US firm said its target for the project was “to give Nigerians in the South and Easts of the country a reliable and affordable alternative means of transporting passengers, goods and information/data across the country and also use the project as a catalysts for revamping the nation’s economy and enticing other major US investors to consider Nigeria as the first choice for investment.”
A release by the Easter Professionals’ Forum said “the huge capital inflow from the project will have far-reaching beneficial effects on so many sectors of the economy, and will, in fact, shake Nigeria up from its economic slumber.” “This railway project will be a boom for agriculture in nigeria. Fortunately, much of the area that the new route will pass through have actually been called the agricultureal belt of Nigeria. There are so many other ways this project will impact on Nigeria.
For example, it will carry fibre-optic cable lines and even power lines. This will improve telecommunications, and make access to telecoms and internet services faster, inexpensive, and available to many areas without these services. It will make for efficient distribution of electricity, it will also have tank farms for downstream petroleum products along its corridor and it will take much of traffic of heavy cargo transport off our roads and this will make our roads last longer.” About 10 to 15 million jobs are to be created directly and indirectly from the project.
Source: Sun, 15th August 2011.