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A Chieftain of the All Progressive Congress in Cross River State, Surv. Kalita Igbe Aruku, has said that the numerous appointments given to youths in the state by the Gov. Ben Ayade led administration has reduced poverty in the state.
Igbe-Aruku, who is the Coordinator elect of the Young Surveyors Forum in Cross River State and the Assistant Secretary elect of the Nigerian Institute of Surveyors in Cross River State, disclosed this in a chat with newsmen in Calabar.
He described the governor’s initiative to accommodate thousands of youths into his cabinet as “commendable”.
According to him, the appointments have given the youths the opportunity to serve and be closer to the corridors of power, thereby having the cognate experience on governance and administration.
He said that a majority of the youths have been stable and well to do through the proceeds of the appointments.
He added that the appointments have led to huge capital development in Cross River State, especially for those who can make good use of the opportunity given to them.
Surv. Kalita Igbe Aruku maintained that Ayade’s defection to the APC was long over due, adding that even before defecting, Ayade had shown his admiration for President Muhammadu Buhari.
On Ayade’s industrial revolution in the state, the Young Surveyor maintained that the governor has industrial the state with a view to expand revenue generation into the state coffers.
“Cross River State was the first state Mr President visited after he was sworn in for a first term in office. He did the ground breaking for the Superhighway project.
“If Cross River State was an APC state, with the amount of interest the President has for the state, I think that many of these signature projects would have gotten federal support, much more than they might have now.
“The President has been supporting the governor even when the governor was in the opposition. The President has been magnanimous, fixing the Ikom bridge, the rehabilitation of the Ikom-Biase Federal highway and the juicy federal appointments given to Crossriverians.
“Ayade’s defection is timely and the benefits that the state would reap are enormous,” he said.
He said that Ayade’s defection has created a new synergy and political calculation in Cross River State, which he said was not in place since 1999, adding that every political party has realised that the electorates were now going to have two options.
He maintained that the state governor was better in the APC than in PDP, giving the fact that the believe which has been circulating that the three wise men of the state PDP had total control of the state political circle was over.
“While in PDP, the governor was not allowed to control the power he wished to as the governor; but coming to the APC which was formerly an opposition in the state, they are willing to give him the space and influence he deserves as the governor.
“I strongly believe that the governor will do well in APC, having realised the problems that he faced in the PDP, I believe he knows what to give and take in the APC so that they will be greater unity and peace in the party,” he added.
He said that the Governor’s defection has aligned the state with the Centre, stating that shortly after his approval, the Federal Executive Council approved N18bilion for the development of the Kano and Calabar Free Trade Zones.
“I heard reliably that the governor is strongly making a case for a review of the ceeding of the oil wells from Bakassi out of the state.
“Most Crossriverians don’t understand that the beginning of the economic downturn in Cross River State came from the lost of Bakassi and the ceeding of the oil wells. Before then, we were part of the Niger Delta, but today, we are just attached to the NDDC because we are not a major oil revenue earner.
“What the governor needs now is our support and prayers to enable him move the state forward,” he added.
