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Tag: Ben Ayade

  • Operation Crocodile Smile 3 flags off in C/River

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State has flagged off the Nigerian Army operation crocodile smile III exercise in Bakassi local government area to check cases of kidnapping, militancy and armed robbery.
    Ayade, who performed the exercise on Tuesday, said it would also help to maintain peace and orderliness during the annual Calabar festival and the 2019 polls.
    According to him, the exercise will also reduce the proliferation of arms through the Cameroon border at Ikang in Bakassi.
    The governor added that the Nigerian Army has remained disciplined and very professional in the discharge of their constitutional duties.
    The Governor called on all security agencies to work in harmony with a view to bringing the security challenges across the country under control.
    “As the 2019 general elections draw closer, I want to use this opportunity to warn politicians to desist from moving arms and sponsoring violence at polling units.
    “As the Chief Security Officer of the state, I will work with security agencies to ensure that anyone caught is prosecuted,’’ he said.
    In his own remarks, the Chief of Army Staff, Lt. General. Tukur Buratai, disclosed that the operation was a training exercise aimed at enhancing internal security operations by the Army.
    The COAS, who was represented by Maj. Gen. Emmanuel Kabuk, the General Officer Commanding 82 Division, Enugu, said that the operation was a training exercise to help soldiers of 13 Brigade horn their military capabilities.
    According to him, the exercise was designed to include riverine and land operations with a view to monitoring the creeks by tackling kidnapping of personalities, militancy and curbing the menace of armed robbery.
    “This exercise has been designed to enable officers and soldiers of 13 Brigade to show their proficiency in internal security.
    “The land operation will be conducted to check armed robbery, communal clashes, stop and search of vehicles among others.
    “The riverine operation will equally help us to check the activities of militancy and kidnapping of personalities across the creeks.
    “In addition to the exercise, we will also carry out medical outreach in host communities and schools.
    “As we do this, it will also help us to maintain peace and order and create a conducive environment as we approach the 2019 general elections,’’ he said.
    He urged the soldiers to deal with criminals based on the rules of engagement.
    The Commander of 13 Brigade, Nigerian Army, Calabar, Brig.-Gen. Charles Okulide, disclosed that 800 security personnel drawn from the Army, Police, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence and Immigration would be participating in the one month exercise.
    Okulide said that the initiative was to foster inter-agency relationship among security agencies in the state, thereby expressing confidence that the exercise will be hitch free.
    According to him, the Brigade has made giant efforts in curbing heinous crime in the state through the sustained collaboration of other security agencies.

  • I’m committed to the progress and development of Cross River – Ita-Giwa

    Former Presidential Adviser, Senator Florence Ita-Giwa, on Saturday said she was committed to work for the peace, progress and development of Cross River State.

    Ita-Giwa who was just appointed as the official ambassador for the Cross River State Industrial Revolution initiative by Governor Ben Ayade, told The Nation in Calabar that it is well within her right, and she considers it her duty as a political and community leader in the state to intervene at anytime she feels that things are not going well in the state.

    “Indeed recent events within the political space in the state is cause for concern because if care is not taken the state could degenerate into a political war zone by one of the two major parties in the state,” she said.

    The Bakassi leader said the recently widely reported meeting that took place in her Calabar residence was one of such interventions.

    Ita-Giwa said it was her view that the power zoning formula in the state, by which the governorship position should be retained in the northern senatorial district of the state, is the only guarantee numerical challenged groups in the state have against political marginalization.

    Read Also: No faction in Bakassi APC, says Ita-Giwa

    According to her, nothing should be done to upset the arrangement in the state.

    Senator Ita-Giwa said she has no apologies for accepting her appointment as the official ambassador for the Cross River State Industrial Revolution initiative.

    She said the meeting in her residence was to brief leaders of the southern senatorial zone of the viability of the Ayade industrial development initiative, having been personally conducted on a tour of the project by Governor Ayade.

    The former lawmaker said she was convinced that the initiative will fast track the development of the state, and called on leaders in the zone to support the laudable initiative.

    Ita-Giwa also said she has had no discussions about the deputy governorship ticket of the state, adding that she owes no one any explanations even if she did.

    According to her, as a very busy individual she does not need the office of deputy governor to impact positively on the fortunes of the state or to support the governor in the development of the state.

    “I am very comfortable using the political platform as a leader to advance her avowed desire to serve humanity,” she said.

  • Ayade urges NYSC members to participate in Carnival

    Cross River State Governor, Prof Ben Ayade, has called on members of the National Youth Service Corps ( NYSC ) posted to the state to participate in this year’s edition of the famous Carnival Calabar which comes up in December.

    Addressing the 2018 Batch B, Stream 2 corps members during their swearing in ceremony at the permanent orientation camp in Obubra Local Government Area, Ayade said they came at a time when preparations for the carnival are in top gear.

    Ayade who was represented by the Director, General Services and Administration, Obubra Local Government Council, Mr Richard Okpa, said the government was working tirelessly to ensure that the safety of corps members is guaranteed.

    He urged them to see their time in the state as an opportunity to contribute to the development of the state and country.

    “While you continue to render selfless services to the state, my administration will continue to expand welfare windows for your comfort,” Ayade said.

    State Coordinator of the NYSC in the state, Ambekemo Eniola, lauded the prospective Corps members for successful graduation and mobilization for national service.

    She said as soon as the swearing in ceremony is over, the Corps members would be coopted to belong to different Camp Committees to enable them learn leadership skills, adopt Entrepreneurship spirit amongst others.

    She hoped that as the orientation course progresses, there would not be any cause to sanction the corps members for negative actions for any reasons whatsoever.

    She expressed gratitude to all who made the exercise a success.

  • How Cross River hopes to fight poverty with hybrid rice factory

    When Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State came on board in 2015, he came in with a businesslike style, which seemed strange, especially against the background that the state has always been tagged a civil service state. According to the governor, his aim was to free the state from reliance on the Federation Account, instead of waiting every month to go to Abuja for an ever-dwindling allocation, which barely takes care of the state’s wage bill.

    In this regard the governor had pursued an aggressive industrialisation agenda by putting up structures across the state to enable him actualise this. One of such structures set up by the by the present administration is the hybrid rice seed and seedling factory located at the Ayade Industrial Estate in Calabar, the state capital.

    Set up by the state government to the tune of about N3 billion the project also aims to drive the agricultural agenda of the Federal Government of supporting local production of rice to also boost economy.

    Speaking recently during a test run of the project, Governor Ben Ayade said the project is expected to generate at least N70 billion annually with full federal government patronage, when fully operational.

    “When I told Cross Riverians that my ambition was to restructure the state from over dependence on federal allocation, I truly meant it because with projects like this; we are going to generate more revenue for the state. We are partnering with the CBN through the Rice Anchor Borrowers Programme in ensuring that most of the seedlings are acquired from here. I am happy that Cross River is on the path of independence even after we lost our oil wells unjustifiably. We now have an investment that needs federal government patronage. If we are to have the federal government patronage in full, we are looking at a yearly turnover of 70 to 100 billion naira. The federal government should focus on the procurement of rice seedlings from Cross River. We should do between 40-60 per cent of the market sale because we will have no competitor,” Ayade had said.

    Briefing newsmen in Calabar during a facility tour of the factory, Commissioner for Agriculture, Prof Anthony Eneji, said the factory would employ over 10, 000 persons directly and is expected to meet the hybrid seed demands of the entire South-South and South-East regions of the country.

    Throwing light on how the factory would operate, Eneji said, “This was set up to improve the art and science of rice production from the mundane approach to some sort of technology driven production and so here is the facility for the seedling production, which was commissioned by President Muhammadu Buhari. There are many components here right from the seedling operation, which happens within the complex and then the nursery side for displaying the ceded trays where nursery seedlings are produced in a matter of two to three weeks for transplanting. There are also facilities for a level of automation of the seedling production. It is actually planned that from our own fields, where we produce the hybrid rice, they come into the complex here, the seed is dried to the required moisture contents and then housed in cooling room at 4 degree centigrade, so that when we need the seed, we take it out from and begin the seedling operation to raise then nursery. So in summary that is how it is

    “We have transplanters that can handle three hectares in one hour. We have machines like normal tractors, rotovators, and standard laboratory to help us with analysis of soil, water and plant samples. We are attaching the molecular laboratory part to it to enable us actually screen our rice the way we want and enable select the best type for our ecology. This is a state owned project to which contract was given to the tune of about N3 billion to execute in terms of planning, design, constitutional and equipping it, the machines, the access and the outdoor situation, all the facilities together. It is a self-sustaining complex. For now it is solely government sponsored project. Going forward for sustainability, it would not harm to find a reliable private player to join with government.

    “This facility is one meant to support of hybrid seeds that we would have in the three hybrid seed centres in the three senatorial zones of the state. Our main target is to be able to compete with seed producing companies in Nigeria. We spend a lot of money buying seeds from Kebbi State. We now put pen to paper to calculate how much we spent and how much we can gain if get a facility like this to produce our own hybrid seeds. Even if we are supplying to south-south states alone, you can imagine how much we can gain from that. And from the hybrid seeds, we should be able to compete as suppliers of improved rice seeds under the anchor borrowers programme.

    “Hybrid seeds here mean that it is a seed gotten from two pairs. One could be high yielding and the other disease resistant. Here in our laboratories, it is our place to plan the crossing and the crossing would happen in the field from where hybrid seeds are supposed to be produced and processed and then brought here for storage. Right now, the seedlings are raised on demand basis. You know they have to be taken off within three weeks

    “We would conservatively put the number of direct employment at 10, 000. But the indirect and other multiplier effects like those who would be farming rice at the various local government and the labour they are going to hire and everything, and then the processors and so on. It is quite enormous.

    “For us to be able to meet the hybrid seed demands of the entire south-south zone, we are estimating to start with 1000 hectares of land and if we get 8 tonnes per hectare from each of this hectare, you multiply that by 1000 so you can know the yield from there. If you are selling one tonne of hybrid rice at N150, 000, then you can use your calculator and do the arithmetic. You will know we are talking in billions of naira. This is a totally self-sustaining project if we manage it the way we are going. It can pay back whatever we are putting into this investment in three to four years.

    “For management reasons the state has created a special SUV called Cross River Rice Company and charged it with management responsibility. It is under the Ministry of Agriculture. Technically the state is prepared for the project.”

  • APC resists plans to convert Tinapa to university

    The All Progressives Congress in Cross River State has resisted plans by the state government to convert the Tinapa Business and Leisure Resort to a university.

    The party described the idea as “laughable and the height of hallucination.”

    Governor of Cross River State, Ben Ayade had in a television programme recently mooted the idea of turning the resort into a “first class university.”

    A statement by the State Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Bassey Ita, made available to The Nation in Calabar on Thursday, read, “Ayade will not stop amusing Cross River people. The people of Cross River are daily inundated with promises of this or that, which have all remained only in the realm of imagination.

    Read Also: APC primaries: Edo aspirant seeks direct primaries

    “We just begin to laugh each time Ayade makes his promises of constructing this or that. Yes we laugh over it because there are just products of hallucination. Each time he travels abroad and thinks of a story beyond MOUs, he comes back with the idea of another empty promise. Cross Riverians are now too wise to believe these antics”.

    “It is really amusing that a government which cannot subvent the only State University, Cross River University of Technology (CRUTECH) to take care of its accreditation and other academic challenges, can be talking of constructing a research-based university. Such pronouncement confirms our fear of hallucination as being at the centre of these empty promises”.

    “We urge the Governor to convince us of its seriousness with the project, by firstly subventing CRUTECH, paying pension arrears, completing the superhighway, deep seaport, among other projects he earlier promised but abandoned before turning Tinapa to a University.”

    The statement urged the Governor not to tamper with the Tinapa Resort because “APC has great plans coupled with the goodwill of the President Buhari led administration to revive the resort and make it work”.

  • C/River APC chieftain rejects zoning for governorship

    A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River State, Mr Goddie Akpama, has called for the jettisoning of the zoning arrangement for the governorship position in next year’s election if the party intends to win the election next year.

    The political class appears to have an unwritten agreement that the governorship should rotate among the three senatorial districts and by this arrangement the northern senatorial district still has another four years with Governor Ben Ayade of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) from Obudu local government area, almost concluding his first four years.

    The other two districts are the southern and central senatorial districts which produced former governors Donald Duke and Liyel Imoke respectively, who both served for eight years each from 1999.

    Speaking against the background of the by-election for the Obudu State Constituency of the House of Assembly, where the candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mrs. Abbey Ukpukpen, scored 12,530 to beat the All Progressive Congress’ (APC) candidate, Mr Adah Ishamali who polled 4,349 votes, on August 11, Akpama said the zoning should not apply to the APC.

    According to him, going by what transpired in the by-election, the northern senatorial district does not have what it takes to win the governorship for the APC.

    Speaking with The Nation in Calabar on Saturday, Akpama, a former governorship candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in the state, called on the APC to support someone from the south as according to him, this would greatly improve their chances next year, given they have the voting strength.

    Read Also: 34 prisoners get pardon in C/Rivers

    Akpama said, “The main lesson from that by-election is very clear, and it is that the northern senatorial district APC aspirants do not have what it takes to win the governorship elections next year for our Party. As a member of the APC, I still stand tall to say, that the governorship aspirants of the north have no political muscle to win elections in 2019 by what transpired during the by-election. We have three governorship aspirants from Obudu and they did nothing to show for the capacity of being governors in the by-election.

    “Even though for the sake of equity, we shout it is the turn of the north, but for the APC to win elections in the state, they must not rely on such a zoning formula if we must win elections in 2019. Again it is not constitutional to limit participation to any unit, constituency or zone.

    “We have approximately 69, 000 registered votes in Obudu. The APC could not even mobilize half of that number to its credit. The by-election was a total failure to the APC. My conclusion is that all of the aspirants do not have the capacity to be able to do or win elections come 2019.

    “I suggest that we the APC begin to look for other options if we intend to win the state next year and not just limit themselves to the issue of zoning. This would be inimical to the party. The party has better materials that would be able to mobilize to win the elections next year, so they should look towards that direction.

    “Let every other party member stand behind whoever would be able to have such capacity to match the PDP, to win the elections come 2019. It is pertinent to reiterate that the PDP has lost popularity with the people and this is the right time for the APC to put themselves together and come up with someone that can win next year.”

  • Cross River increases NYSC members’ allowance

    Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River has increased the monthly allowance of National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) members serving in the state from N3,100 to N5,000.

    Ayade made the announcement on Monday at the closing ceremony for the 2018 `Batch B’ Orientation Course at the NYSC Orientation Camp in Obubra Local Government Area of the state.

    The governor, represented by the Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr Asu Okang, said that the upward review became necessary following the high cost of goods and services in the country.

    According to him, the increase will spur corps members in the state to give in their best in service and community development.

    “Dear corps members, I must salute you for the successful completion of your three weeks orientation programme which I believe was interesting.

    “I am happy to announce to all of you that we have increased your monthly allowance from N3,100 to N5,000 starting from your batch,’’ he said.

    He described corps members as trustees of the nation, noting that their valid contributions in all sectors of the economy cannot be underestimated.

    “Since the creation of Cross River, the largest contributor to the socio-economic development of the state is the NYSC.

    “This is evident in the kind of Community Development Services provided by members of the corps across the state.

    “While we continue to appreciate your predecessors for making historical landmark in the state, I charge you to outshine their legacies by going the extra mile towards supporting the dream of a new Cross River.

    “We are also confident that as the cloud of the next general elections begin to gather, your neutrality will help in giving the guarantee for free, fair and credible elections,’’ he said.

    Ayade assured the corps members of adequate security in the state, urging them to live in harmony with their employers and host communities.

    The NYSC State Coordinator, Mrs Ambekemo Eniola, in her address, urged the corps members to accept their posting across the state in good faith.

    Eniola charged them to protect the image of the scheme wherever they may find themselves.

    She lauded the camp commandant and all relevant security agencies for maintaining peace and order during the period of the orientation.

  • Cross River youths protest against Ayade joining APC

    The Cross River State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) on Wednesday stormed the national secretariat of the party to protest against the alleged plan defection of the state governor, Prof. Ben Ayade to the party, saying there was no vacancy for the Governor.

    The protesters were however stopped from successful carrying out their protest by security personnel and some staff of the APC secretariat, saying while nobody protested against Benue State Governor, Samuel Ortom leaving the party, they were protesting against another governor joining the party.

    The protesting APC youths from Cross Rivers state said there were plans by the governor to join the party, adding that Gov. Ayade wants t9 join the APC because he has been rejected by his own party for failing to deliver on his campaign promises.

    Read Also: Ayade vows to rid Cross River of crimes, seeks FG’s support

    Spokesperson of the group. Sankara Unung told journalists that party stakeholders in state are not comfortable with the antics of the governor and as such is kicking against his proposed entry.

    He said “Ayade is a man with grand scale skimming techniques. APC does not have any space for him and his ilk. For a man whose party has roundly and unprecedented rejected for his very poor and abysmal performance, APC cannot be and should never be his safe heaven.

    “Ayade is running Cross River State like a fiefdom where he designated his younger brother as the co-governor with state powers. A man who is aiding and abating corruption using his direct sibling as proxy should not be allowed to identify with a party with a decent pedigree like our great party, the APC.”

    According to the group, the governor always laying claim to phantom projects which he uses to deceive the people, adding that with the level of poverty and suffering of the people, Ayade does not deserve to be given a space in APC

  • Ayade vows to rid Cross River of crimes, seeks FG’s support

    Determined to rid the state of all forms of crimes and criminalities, Cross River State governor, Senator Ben Ayade has restated his administration’s commitment to leave no stone un-turned in other to retain its status as the most peaceful in the country.

    Governor Ayade gave the commitment shortly after the weekly Security Council meeting with all security and service commanders as well as the commissioner of Police held in his conference room, Government House, Calabar, on Wednesday.

    Briefing journalists on the outcome of the meeting,  Ayade pointed out that “part of the measures the council adopted was to get the state capital, particularly Calabar South Local Government Area, sufficiently lit,” disclosing that the contract for the revitalization and expansion of the existing street lighting network has been awarded.

    The governor also disclosed that the state security outfit, Homeland Security,  will be overhauled and more energy injected with complementary logistics and financial support as well as more personnel drawn from the armed forces and other security operatives in the state to enhance their operation.

    Decrying the impact of the ongoing crisis in Southern Cameroon on the state, the governor narrated: “Let me bring to the knowledge of Cross Riverians and indeed Nigerians that 80 percent of security issues we are dealing with is a as result of the war just by our borders.

    “The Southern Cameroon guerilla warfare is basically the Amazonians trying to secede from  Cameroon.  And as a result, there is an influx of persons into the country through over 27 illegal routes, who smuggle in goods of different kinds, sell them and use the money to acquire arms, recruit our young men and women and use them as machineries to fight back home.

    “As a matter of fact, this is an international issue, completely outside the scope of the governor of a state and should be handled by the Presidency. It is against this background that we are addressing a letter to Mr. President officially soliciting his support to address these security challenges in the state occasioned by the illegal immigrants of Southern Cameroon to the state,” Ayade disclosed.

    Read Also: Ayade: Cross River cocoa processing plant ready soon

    Continuing the governor said: “I will not hesitate to cry out that Cross River State has been left hanging and crying in this crisis. Aside from the humanitarian effort in addressing the issues in food security in the refugee camps and the communal skirmishes, the state has not received any special incentives knowing that a war at your backyard is a war in your house.”

    Ayade further stressed: “Let me say again and again here that the war in Cameroon has direct negative impact on Cross River State and until we receive the needed federal attention, we will remain vulnerable to the daunting security challenges.

    “Let me once again appeal to Mr. President and the National Security Adviser to as a matter of urgency intervene in the security issues in Cross River by ensuring that all military platforms are adequately upgraded  and the police fully funded to tackle the rising cases of crimes in the state.”

    Disclosing further decisions taken at the security meeting the governor stated: “Cross River and indeed Calabar is too beautiful, our people are too peaceful for what is battling us now. It is only from this security meeting that we realize that the only way we can address this issue is to address the illegal routes through which weapons, illegal goods and the rest enter into Calabar. Today, Calabar has become an illegal trading route by the immigrants who use same to acquire weapons as I mentioned earlier.”

    On the inter states crisis, Ayade stated that, Cross River is at war with over four states bordering it, stressing that “these are issues that relate to land disputes long before my own father was born. So, as the governor, while struggling to deal with the internal issues, I am now confronted with international issues beyond the magnitude that the state can carry.

    “So, again I use this opportunity to call on Mr. President to please intervene, not for me as state governor, but to support the service commanders and the Nigerian Police for them to effectively and efficiently carryout out their statutory duties of protecting the country.”

     

  • No plan to attack Cross River community – Miyetti Allah

    The Cross River State Branch of the Miyetti Allah Cattle Breeders Association of Nigeria has debunked rumours that Fulani herdsmen were planning to attack residents of Obanliku Local Government Area of Cross River.

    The Chairman of the association, Alhaji Hassan Abo, who spoke with our reporter on Wednesday in Calabar, described the rumour as “devilish and wicked’’.

    Abo said that cattle breeders in Obanliku had been living peacefully with residents of the local government over the years, adding that the unity should not be destroyed with fake rumour.

    “It is not true that Fulani herdsmen are planning to attack any community in Obanliku Local Government or any other area in the state.

    “As an umbrella body of the breeders association, we want to state clearly that we are peace loving people, residing here in Cross River State.

    “We urge government and the security agencies to bring any one found wanting to book. I want to applaud Gov. Ben Ayade for his efforts in protecting lives and property of all residents in the state.

    Alhaji Yusuf Usman, the Chief Imam of Obudu Mosque, a nearby local government to Obanliku, told our reporter in a telephone interview that the rumour got to them late on July 17.

    Read Also: ‘Nobody should destabilise Cross Rivers’

    Usman said that the information, which had caused panic in the area, had reduced the distance breeders go with their cattle to search for pasture.

    “Due to the rumour, we are now scared. Some cattle breeders can no longer move freely because members of the community are now seeing them as their enemies.

    “The rumour that Fulani herdsmen are planning to attack them is false. Obudu and Obanliku Local Governments are very close and I want to state clearly that we have no such plan against our host communities.

    “I wish to assure the state government and security agencies that we will not allow breakdown of law and order from our members in this area,’’ he said.

    The Commissioner of Police in Cross River, Mr Hafiz Inuwa, also said that the rumour was false.

    “The state police command and the security adviser to Gov. Ayade have been on alert since we received the information.

    “The information is not true.  It is a rumour. People should stop peddling such fake rumours. I am very happy that the area is calm and peaceful.

    “I want to advise people to turn away from spreading such rumours because it will not do us any good,’’ he said.

    A resident of Obanliku, Mr Paul Achu, told our reporters on telephone that the rumour caused panic in the area, adding however, that his community was safe with people going about their normal businesses.

    NAN