..Says State to Witness Greater Economic Prosperity with The Duo
A Chieftain and the 2015 House of Representatives Candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC, for the Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency in Cross River State,Engr.Cyprian Oyom Igban has sued for massive support of Cross Riverians for the actualization of the Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu mandates as Nigeria’s President and Governor of Cross River State respectively in the forthcoming general elections.
Engr. Igban said his appeal is hinged on the personality,the democratic credentials and leadership history of the duo maintaining that leveraging these qualities with massive support for them and other party candidates will translate to the fulfillment of the development destiny of the state.
Speaking in an interview in Calabar on the heels of the unveiling of Sen. Otu’s manifesto tagged “People-First” and recent visit by the Presidential Candidate of the APC, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu for a rally in Calabar,Engr. Igban who is also The National Director of Strategy, Tinubu Shettima Network,TSN and Member,(Humanitarian and Welfare Directorate) Independent Campaign Council,ICC,said the synergy between the two Leaders and between the Cross River State Government and the Federal Government, incoming, will witness greater economic prosperity for the state.
According to him, “With Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s political and development history in Lagos and beyond,his promise of developing the Waterfronts of Cross River among others coupled with the People-First personality of Sen. Prince Bassey Otu reflective of his development template for the state, Cross River will soon be ushered into an era of greater economic prosperity for the citizens of the state.
“As the duo take over the reins of leadership in May,we will begin to see that the Bakassi Deep Seaport, Super-Highway,our abundant marine and other natural endowments,our arable lands,our solid mineral base,the Oil and Gas sector, infrastructural development,our rich tourism potentials and even our very remarkable peaceful climate will all receive the necessary attention to prepare the people for the expected prosperity,”he maintained.
Explaining that the People-oriented disposition of Sen. Otu is the audacity, passion and vision behind the “People-First” Manifesto,Engr. Igban stated that the APC Governorship Candidate is poised to change the development narrative of the state,and restore hope and confidence of the people in the governance process.
“We can count on his audacious believe in the people,his rich leadership credentials over the years,his sense of honesty as reflected in his fair,just and egalitarian disposition to politics,his wealth of experience as Principal Officer of the two chambers of National Assembly as well as his chivalrous generosity to make Cross River State the true destination of choice.
” We’ve had some discussions on how to turn the economy of the state around,and I realised that he has deep concern and passion to pull the people together for greater economic successes,and thankfully too,he has keyed into the Asiwaju Bola Tinubu’s development template. So again,with this synergy,Cross River State will be the better for it.”
On whether funding won’t pose a great challenge to the implementation of the Manifesto, the APC Chieftain hinted that what is required is the political will of any Leader to fix whatever missing link in his or her sphere of influence.
“Aside Lagos,Cross River is one state that is well endowed: from the coastal plains of the south through the forest belts of the central to the high hills of the north,abound natural resources of different kinds,so when people describe a state as poor,they may be referring to the untapped resources for the use of the state. The previous administrations may not have done enough of looking inward to harness these rich resources for the aggressive development of the state.But the current reality require that development must be aggressive,and thankfully,we have a result-oriented man in Sen.Otu who is ready, willing and poised to harness these God-given potentials and with the support of the APC Government at the centre,one is bound to appreciate the massive turnaround that a state hitherto known to be poor,will witness.”
Engr. Igban emphasized that what is rather necessary at this point of the election is for the masses to vote in yet again,APC Government at the centre and in the state for this to become a reality adding that the focus of the electorate should be centred on the leadership antecedents of the individual candidates “instead of dwelling more on the sentiments of some political parties and their leaders whose only desire is to turn back the hand of the clock.”
He stressed: “Some people are hauling invectives on Sen.Ben Ayade,as attack dogs of their paymasters not because of Ayade,but it is because they want to divert attention of the electorate to the sentiments expressed by their party all for their personal gain. What we should do is to ignore them,remain focused and ensure that we elect all APC Candidates at the polls. Thankfully,APC never committed the blunder of making the wrong choice of Candidates.
He said those averse to the APC leadership are doing so because the APC has come to disappoint their selfish motives adding that they ended up leaving a legacy of abandoned projects as they failed to map out a succession plan for the development of the state.
Engr. Igban noted that the Manifesto of Sen. Otu was rich enough to be reckoned with having captured clearly the succession and development plan of the incumbent administration with a view to leveraging on those relevant sectors to continue the process of rebuilding the state.
Written By Bassey Ita
