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Tag: Governor Ben Ayade

  • Children urged to speak out against violence

    Children urged to speak out against violence

    Children have been urged to speak out  whenever they are victims of any form of violence.

    Representative of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Nigeria and Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), Jean Gough, who said this, noted that most children are ashamed, fear blame, feel they will not be believed or afraid speaking out would not help them.

    Speaking at the launch of the Cross River State Campaign to end Violence Against Children (VAC) in Calabar, yesterday, Gough who was represented by Chief of Child Protection Programme, UNICEF, Abuja, Rachel Harvey, encouraged the children not to feel that way but to come out and say what their problems are so they can get help.

    Her words,, “My message to children is if you suffer violence it is a problem, it is not okay; if you suffer violence, it is not your fault; if you suffer violence, it is the person who did this to you that should feel shame, not you; if you suffer violence, speak out. Do not suffer in silence.”

    Children, she said, suffer physical, emotional and sexual violence.

    She said it was unfortunate that six out of every 10 children, (about 10 million children) in the country suffer various forms of violence.

    According to her, it was significant the launch was being done on the International Day of the African Child and commended the Cross River State government for being the second state after Lagos to do so.

    Gough said the state was setting an example for others in the fight against violence against children.

    She said the society has duty to prevent the malaise.

    Speaker of the Children’s Parliament, Miss Karen Ojogu, described VAC as a tragedy that has lasted for too long, damaging the psyche of children and called for concerted efforts to end it.

    She said the interest of children should also be considered when issues about the are discussed.

    “Children are the leaders of tomorrow, so our little voices should also be heard. A child is a human being, and also has rights as every other human,” she said.

    Commissioner for Women Affairs, Mrs Stella Odey, said when children live in non-violent environments, they thrive with better learning and health outcomes and are able to maximize their potentials to be the best and grow into responsible adults who can contribute to the development of the society.

    Governor Ben Ayade, who was represented by his deputy, Prof Ivara Esu, who launched the campaign, pledged to always ensure that the rights of children will always be respected.

     

  • ‘We want superhighway, but don’t deplete our forest’

    ‘We want superhighway, but don’t deplete our forest’

    As controversies over the Cross River State superhighway rage, communities have begged that they do not want it to cause the damage of their forests.

    The superhighway, proposed by Governor Ben Ayade, is to run 260km from Bakassi Local Government Area in the southern senatorial district to Bekwarra local government area in the northern senatorial district. Both points are extremes of the state.

    The state is host to the largest remaining rainforest in Nigeria, which are globally acknowledged as one of the richest sites for biodiversity in the world.

    The forest communities of Edondon and Okokori in Obubra Local Government Area as well as the New Ekuri and Old Ekuri in Akamkpa Local Government areas urged the that the government should go ahead in a manner that would not affect the forests.

    The communities, who spoke after a Community Dialogue on Forest and Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) training organised by Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF) in the two local government areas, said they had been preserving the forests for years, which they had inherited from their forefathers.

    The state government said though over 250 trees would be affected by the project, about 5 million more would be planted. Also, setting the communities are on edge is a gazette published by the state government revoking 10km on either side of the entire stretch of the road.

    Though the government had said that the area would be for development control, this has done little to assuage the nerves of the people who do not understand what this really means.

    Village head of Old Ekuri, Chief Steven Oji, said: “We learnt about sustainable management. We started conserving our forests from our forefathers. And until now we do not even allow logging companies to come here and log. That is why you see this beautiful forest and we don’t want people to come and destroy it. Because of this the whole is thanking us as it would provide oxygen to keep people alive. And they are going to pay us carbon credit for keeping the forests.

    “We are not against the highway. We want highway, but the width of the highway should be constructed outside.”

    Mr Innocent Imah Oyamo from Old Ekuri community said: “If the forest is healthy, we will be healthy. We have been preserving the forests from our ancestors. We would not just allow government to take over what we worked for over the years. If it was just the road, we would not have worried so much, but taking 10km from either side of the road, which is 20km times the total stretch of road is something we are very worried about. Conservation is our culture. We inherited it from our grandfathers. And we would partner any one who would help us conserve our forests and preserve our environments. We want the road but let a proper Environmental Impact Assessment be done so that our environment will not be degraded.”

    Akamo Nathaniel from New Ekuri community said the forest was their source of livelihood and losing it could mean losing the means of income, their homes, heritage and culture.

    Mr Okon Erem from Okokori community said: “The road should not lead to the destruction of the forests. If it is going to destroy our forests, we say no. Otherwise it is a welcome development. If they do a proper EIA where everyone would be involved, then there would be no problem. All we are saying is that let the right thing be done. Let the government leave the forests because the forest gives us life. The issue of 10km to the left and right is also unacceptable to us. This is the right time for us to insist that government should do the right thing. We are saying they will plant more trees for each one they cut, but how long will it take the trees to grow to replace our forests? ”

    Mbe Martins Jonah from Edondon community said: “We inherited the forests and do not want anything to kill it. The government should carry out a proper EIA so that we will not suffer. We wish it would not launch our people into poverty, because the extent of land the government is speculating would launch our people into poverty.”

    Director of HOMEF, Rev Nnimmo Bassey said: “This is the last tract of full rain forest in Nigeria. It is a very valuable forest. This community is very valuable not just to the people living here, but to the global community, because they have managed the forests sustainably by themselves for decades now. These are people who know what the forests are worth.

    “The forest is not just a tree that stands there. The forest is a very complex ecosystem. A place that supports cultures and life and providing the oxygen that we are all breathing. If we cut the forest we are more or less suffocating ourselves. So their own enlightened self-interest is to protect their environment and that interest they have in protecting the environment has a big advantage for the whole world. That is what we are for.

    “We intend to bring the communities together to look at the place of EIA in development projects within forest communities. We want to raise issues about what the people should look out for when an EIA is prepared, the roles of communities in EIA preparation and hope to have a team of forest eco-defenders. These would be people who would keep a close eye on the forest, monitor it and report to the whole world changes they notice around here.”

  • Coalition decries opposition to C/River superhighway

    Coalition decries opposition to C/River superhighway

    A frontline pro-development group, Coalition of Civil Society and Media Executives for Policy Stability (COCMEP), has described as ridiculous anti-people position being canvassed by an International Green Foundation, the Henrich Boll Stiftung, a foreign non-governmental organisation and its local collaborators against the 260km superhighway project being embarked upon by Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River State.

    The coalition urged the Federal Ministry of Environment to disregard the position of Henrich Boll Stiftung and conclude the approval process of the Environmental Impact Assessment for the project.

    Addressing a press conference in Abuja, President of COCMEP, Comrade Innocent Okadigbo said: “The argument that the project would distort conservation is weak, porous and ill-informed because for every one tree affected, two trees would be planted and the State Government has established the Green Police made up of 1,500 young Cross Riverians to protect the state’s rich and vast forest reserve.”

    Comrade Okadigbo further deplored the mischievous alarm by those he described as “self-seeking critics.”

    COCMEP president urged the foreign and local NGOs and other self-appointed environmentalists to borrow a leaf from credible leaders like the Obong of Calabar, His Eminence Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, who is the custodian of the people and their culture; the champion of the Bakassi people, Senator Florence Ita Giwa, the senator representing Southern Cross River, Gershom Bassey, among other prominent sons and daughters of the state, who have all endorsed the signature project.

    According to the coalition, “President Buhari was in Cross River State on October 20, 2015 and performed the groundbreaking ceremony of the project based on interim EIA report by the Federal Ministry of Environment.”

    The coalition described critics of the state’s superhighway project as “hypocrites for refusing to take into consideration similar projects like the 48,000 miles United States Inter-state Highway System (IHS); China’s National Trunk Highway System with nearly 70,000 miles highway as of 2014; the 3,600 miles highway in India and the ongoing 1,600km Trans-Sumatran highway route in Indonesia, all criss-crossing forests and national parks of the aforementioned countries.”

    According to the coalition, “It is therefore curious and suspicious why these critics are desperate and hell bent on stopping the project as if they were paid to do so.

    “These superhighways in other countries had grave effects on human population and conservation and yet they were executed. What is wrong in replicating such massive infrastructural project in Nigeria? Is Nigeria insulated from modernisation and globalisation?”

    COCMEP urged the Federal Ministry of Environment to understand the antics of mischief makers opposed to the project and ignore them and go ahead with the conclusion of the approval process within the ambits of the law for the construction of the project, noting that after all, many developed countries of the world had embarked on more massive superhighway project than this.

    The coalition further argued that “the Cross River superhighway will link local areas with the urban centres and bring about infrastructural development. Its sister-project, the Bakassi Deep Seaport will definitely stimulate economic development of the state, Nigeria and West African sub-region because they will all be interlinked. So, anybody who is opposed to this huge economic project is unpatriotic and an economic saboteur.”

  • FG urged to expedite action on 260km Super highway

    FG urged to expedite action on 260km Super highway

    Governor Ben Ayade of Cross River has called on the Federal Government to expedite action on the construction of the 260-kilometre super highway in the state.

    Ayade made the appeal when the Head of Service of the Federation, Mrs. Winifred Oyo-Ita, visited him in Calabar.

    He told Oyo-Ita that his administration has been asked by relevant federal authorities to stop work on the project until the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) report was ready.

    According to him, there are challenges in delivering his signature projects like the Super Highway and Bakassi Deep Seaport for inauguration by President Muhammadu Buhari within four years.

    The governor said it was regrettable that some persons were playing politics by ignoring the technical aspect of the projects which was important to the socio-economic development of the state.

    Ayade also urged Oyo-Ita to intercede on behalf of the State Government to get the federal authorities to discharge the challenges and ensure the completion of the projects.

    He said that Oyo-Ita could intervene by helping to ensure timely release of approvals necessary for the construction of the superhighway and the Bakassi Deep Seaport.

    Besides, the governor specifically appealed to the Head of Service of the Federation “to kindly put in words on our behalf to the Minister of the Environment and Minister of Transport.

    He said his administration desired that the federal government would expedite action on the EIA document on the projects before the Federal Ministry of Environment.

    “The Minister of Environment has come to see things for herself that the issues of the superhighway and the deep seaport were politically exaggerated by some persons,’’ he said.

    According to him, the construction of the deep seaport and the super highway will not degrade environment but add value to it.
    Ayade, who lauded Buhari for appointing three persons from Cross River into prominent positions in the country, described Oyo-Ita as a thorough bred technocrat.

    He said that Buhari deserved the commendation of every indigene of Cross River over the appointments.

    He also described Buhari as “one of the simplest and truest Nigerian president who loves this country and committed to the wellbeing and oneness of Nigeria.”

    Ayade noted the appointments from the state to include the Chief of Naval Staff, Minister of Niger Delta and the Head of Service of the Federation.

    He said: “Cross River State was also the very first to be visited by President Buhari. He made a firm commitment to return to commission the superhighway and the deep seaport.

    “For us to honour the words of Mr. President that he will come back to commission the projects, all the bottlenecks militating against the project must be removed.

    “Today, as we speak, there is no work going on, all the equipment that were mobilised have been down-sized.

    “The EIA has been issued but because of the petty concerns that have been raised, the Minister of Environment decided to come to see things for herself and she left very satisfied.

    “I want to put it on record that I have signature that is characteristic of me, to protect the environment.

    “There is no person outside our state that is better positioned to protect the environment than myself. For the superhighway, I have no intention to degrade the environment but to add value.

    “As I speak, we have been asked to stop work for a project that Mr. President wants to commission during my tenure.’’

    Speaking earlier, Oyo-Ita said she was in the state to seek for collaboration in areas of waste to wealth programme and technical training for the state’s civil service.

    She commended Ayade for initiating the projects and for being what she described as the most civil service-friendly governor in Nigeria.

    She appealed to the governor for a piece of land for the construction of the Federal Civil Service Training Centre in Calabar.

    Oyo-Ita also promised Ayade that she would do everything lawful to support Cross River as an indigene of the state.

    The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Ayade granted the request for a piece of land for the building of the Federal Civil Service Training Centre in Calabar.