Cross River to Explore Gas, Generate Power – Gov-Elect
Cross River State Governor-elect, Prof. Ben Ayade has pledged to engage “the right companies that will explore gas in the state and also generate power through gas turbines”.
Ayade made this disclosure, on Wednesday, in Calabar, during a post-election media chat with journalists to thank the people of the state whom, he said, voted him, overwhelmingly, during the just concluded governorship elections.
Consequently, Ayade called on the president-elect, Rtd. Gen Muhammadu Buhari to rise above party sentiments and carry everybody along in the discharge of their official duties irrespective of party leanings.
“General Buhari has a challenge. The world is watching. Let him show maturity, rise above party sentiments, so that any state government that has a business focus, should be assisted. Ayade added.
He thanked President Goodluck Jonathan for accepting defeat at the elections. “President Jonathan has demonstrated that Africa has come of age. What he has done is rare and I hope Buhari will appreciate the president’s civility and face the issues of governance with an open heart”.
Ayade, who has also proposed that Cross River State would have a shipping line during his tenure “to ship our petrol products,” stressed that, “all we need is a licence from the Federal Government, so that we can execute such projects when the time comes.”
The governor-elect promised to revolutionise the state civil service, and, as his personal sacrifice, forfeit ten percent of his salary and earnings for the poor.
He blamed the management of the Cross River State University of Technology (CRUTECH) for not being innovative enough. “The state government gives the university a subvention of N169million a month. A university should engage in research projects and raise funds,” he said, assuring that he would look into the issue of the five-month-old strike by the university workers, as soon as he was sworn in come May 28th. Ayade proposed “a farm city”, so as to encourage farmers in the production of crops, based on the comparative advantages of such areas.
