Gov. Bassey Otu taking salute at the parade
As Nigeria celebrated her 63rd independence, the Cross River state governor, Senator Bassey Otu has urged Nigerians to think the country first in all it’s endeavour
Delivering his goodwill message on October 2 at the U. j. Esuene stadium to mark the anniversary, Otu said, everyone’s watchword should be “the country first” as “our sacrifice of today will eventually take us to the Nigeria we dream to have tomorrow”.
He said, “our collective resolve and sacrifice we make as a people will make the country greater that what it was prior to 1st October, 1960. It is the only driving force towards a better Nigeria. For it is our sense of unity that will guarantee the indivisibility of our country, sense of ingenuity will give us technological breakthrough while our sense of patriotism will be an enabler of peace and security of our nation.
“For every good action, it is first conceived in the mind as a thought before it is processed and translated into what we do physically. So, with patriotic mind set, the outcomes of our thought will make Nigeria greater”.
While acknowledging current hostile economic environment in the country and globally, Otu pointed out that what is required of all is “solidarity, patience, resilience and love to collectively get our economy out of the woods”.
With our individual ideas put together, he said “will ultimately bring success to our present suffering. Let us take a step of faith by believing that this is achievable, and follow up with concrete actions.
“For the past 63 years of our nation’s independence, we have been able to record some modest achievements in the political sphere. We have had twenty four years (still counting) of unbroken civilian democratic governance in the country. In the area of infrastructure and physical utilities, we have achieved much as well as stabilizing our socio-cultural endowments. Our health care delivery system has improved, while food security is work in progress.
“In order to consolidate on these gains, I enjoin all of us to bridge the fault lines of ethnicity, crime and criminality, hate and rancour. While the proverbial “good old days” are often relieved with nostalgic feelings, I make bold to state that there favourable conditions were created by the unreported sacrifices and goodwill made by certain individuals or the entire citizenry to create the “Eldorado” we crave”look.
On his welcome remark, the Commissioner for Information, Mr. Erasmus Ekpang said, the Senator Otu led administration “since inauguration on May 29, 2023 has demonstrated huge commitment to rigid the good governance structures in the State.
“So far, he has reviewed the Civil Service with slight adjustment in the take home pay of workers across board to cushion the effects of high inflation rate in the system and introduced a 31-Ministries structure to drive his policy thrust for the socio-economic development of the state”.
