http://www.enugu.gov.ng/tourism.html



compare this with this

www.crossriverstate.com

otokx:

But please is there not something wrong perhaps a mistake that this man has done abi is he now a spirit being. We all make mistakes as humans

duke is not perfect though, he has not performed wonderfully in the education sector and cross-river is still seen as one of the "educationally disadvantaged" states. also he is not all that detribalised( though by nigerian standard he is o.k, yet there are vestiges of tribalism in him. purportedly.) also, he has some scandals too. no evidence though, but a lot of people believe his hands are not clean in the issue of the death of his former deputy. these are all rumours. finally he is not that popular in his home state, especially with those from northern cross-river.

however, on the average, duke is far above his fellow governors. no controversy here.i will support him for president.

When Duke was commissioner of finance in the ninties, he was giving his monthly salaries to charity

dont forget www.obuduranchmountainrace.com and www.tinapa.com also.

www.crstb.com used to be good also until it was shut down to be revamped

The guy's achievements are just too great unlike a lot of state govs that have loads of cash allocation like Akwa ibom state

Donald duke is a great Governor, unfortunatelt somethings stand against him

He is not of the three tribes and Nigeria hasn't seemed to develop beyond that.

He has problems with his school certificate. It was a long drawn out battle through his tenure. The certificates he finaly presented in court after almost five years of leagal battle are very well believed to be forged.

He has mortgaged Cross River state allocation ( civil servant salaries) for the financing of Tinapa. if Tinapa doesn't work out , hmmmm . Civil servants will suffer.

He has tried to rebuild a certain highway in calabar for almost three years and has not been able to complete it.

His pineapple exportation project never took off.

To be absolutely honest the development of calabar was as a result of Nigeria 99. which fortunately for him was the year he assumed office.

Not to be disputed ,he has vision. But can he deliver. So far in calabar its just a mirage.

correction my friend! the development in calabar did not happen due to nigeria 99 cos the clean up and road construction happened in 2002 and later! thats for a fact.

so adjust that paragraph if u please

I very much prefer Dr. Okonjo-Iyeala and Pat Utomi, but Duke seems to be popular and hence more likely to win.

am happy to be seeing some contrary expressions.

Am a dukist!  I respect the depth of the guy's mental ability and tenacity of purpose.  For all those who do not live in Calabar or who may still be skeptical, Donald Duke has transformed Cross River State.  I'm not an indigene of the place.  I come from Akwa Ibom State by happenstance, but I live my live in Calabar.  I'm in a good position to tell a bad govt. from a good one, having tasted the two.  Victor Attah in AKS represents the face of everything bad.  He has a commonwealth of 7billion Naira monthly to spend from yest, my state stinks like sh*t.  On the other hand, Donald Duke collects an average of N1.5 billion/ month.  His state sparkles like diamond.  He is Mr. Clean.  Take a walk round the well-paved and tarred roads of Calabar, and you can never find a single empty sachet of "pure water" anywhere.  With the lean reseources at his disposal, he has managed to build so many roads, turn around the old moribund Polycal to an excellent multi-campus University of Technology, offering 29 fully-accredited courses by NUC (University of Uyo has less than 9 accredited courses, and is federally owned), he has transformed d public health system and has employed several expartriate medical doctors to fill in the vaccancies that existed due to dearth of qualified indigenes, the hospitals are clean and smell like the hospitals of old, if you step into any. Duke has successfully executed the ADB-Assisted Water Supply scheme in the major towns of the state with uninterruptible water flowing in homes 24/7 since 2004 till date.  The same ADB load was granted to every other state of d federation yet no other state gov has been able to roll out the project and make it work.  I derive a lot of pleasure, driving around calabar every evening as all the major roads whose construction have been completed have street lights, sidewalks, concrete drains and cool layouts.  Duke has engaged the services of volunteer teachers to beaf up the staff strength of schools.  He set up a think-tank to liase with macmillan books for the mass-production of school text books that are given away to school pupils.  He developed the ranch resort, which is itself a oney-spinner for the government, accounting for a greater percentage of revenue currently accruing to the state.  He started PPP public-private partnership) in the service delivery sector under an arrangement whereby private coys are engaged in running the affairs of organizations like the water board, tourism bureau, schools and other sectors that have for decades been impossible to run by the conventional civil servants.  He has extended electricity to 92% of all the communities in Cross River State.  He does not owe civil servants and recently, he challenged anybody who has any record to show that he is owing any of the contractors who have done a job for him any money, to come out and say so.  No one has yet spoken. The results have been completely amazing.

Above all, Donald Duke has the charm and mental balance to cope with the rubrics of governance.  I know I sound like a sycophant but I must add that am a private citizen of Nigeria, struggling and living my private live here, trying to make ends meet.  But I must confess, I'm crazy about Donald Duke.  He really is da bomb.  I hate politics and politiking because the best would normally not win.  Else, I'd have said, I wud join any Party that presents Duke as candidate for President, use my reseources to campaign for him and make sure, e climbs the big stage.  Nigeria needs him now, more than anyone else.  Forget about the hoopla about Okonjo-Wahala., Pat Utomi, El-Rufai, et al.

duke is not perfect though, he has not performed wonderfully in the education sector and cross-river is still seen as one of the "educationally disadvantaged" states. also he is not all that detribalised( though by nigerian standard he is o.k, yet there are vestiges of tribalism in him. purportedly.) also, he has some scandals too. no evidence though, but a lot of people believe his hands are not clean in the issue of the death of his former deputy. these are all rumours. finally he is not that popular in his home state, especially with those from northern cross-river.

its good you pointed out tht these things are mere rumors and not the truth. ultimaely hs qualification from UPENN Law can be verified so I dont see the issue. the northern cross river peopel dont liek him because of nigerian ethnic issues. They want thier own man there, and not one frm the southern part of nigeria, despite the good things duke has done. and one of these good things is the job he has done in education, such as giving the young subsidized textbooks written by nigerian professors

Two sets of people don't like Duke. They are:

1. The perpetual politicians, who think that governance must translate to patronage of inflated contracts. The average politician in Cross River State does not drive a Hummer, build a skyscrapper or do the 'things' politicians like Victor Attah's followers do with money. Cross River State govt. cannot afford d luxury of 1000 pieces of brand-new BMW cars as seen in Akwa Ibom State. (where the gov we are told, was forced to buy 1000 state-of-the-art BMW's of all models by the authorities of the German govt. after he lied upon arrest at the airport there with a cache of hard currency that he was in Germany to buy cars, and he was escorted from the airport to BMW factory to place d order and he had no choice.)

2. The corrupt top-brass of the civil service, who feel shortchanged by Duke's house-cleaning excersise that completely wiped out ghost names from the staff payroll dbase, who benefitted and profiteered in the ghost-name racket. They cannot ever like him, for he removed 'bread' from their mouths. The Okada man, market woman, honest businessman, student, non-indigene, educated indigene, lecturer, driver, mechanic all like him. And that is a crowd enough to see him thru.

I have always argued. Since some people feel that Duke does not have 'clean' certificates, can they please get to Akwa Ibom State and collect Obong Architect (Dr.) Victor Attah, who has trailer loads of tons of certificates and credentials to become the governor of Cross River State, while they give Mr. Donald Duke (who has fake certificates and no chieftaincy or professional titles) on loan to us, the good people of Akwa Ibom State as governor? We'd be delighted to have him take control of the vast and enormous resources of that state that has been raped and pauperized by the goons and idiots of the Attah dynasty.

God will continue to bless Donald Duke and would surely guide him thru to whatever future calling that destiny has for him. It will be well with Nigeria.

celemel i need u to also add that all this is in ur own opinion. It is important for the forum

I have been following this issue carefully. And I saw that two people or percent of people voted agains Duke as president I want to ask that this people boldly pick up another candidate and list out thier achivements and lets compare.


Honestly Duke is the best candidate NOW,

i would like to see that as well and please dont mention gov Attah!

meanwhile, seun just mention Mrs Iweala and Pat Utomi. well i dont know abt pat utomi; he seems to be misplaced and not serious. His patito's gang is one achievement and what the hell is all that abt?

DONALD DUKE FOR PRESIDENCY!!!!

What Donald Duke has done is impressive. I grew up in Calabar, (along Goldie lane, schooled at Unical Staff School) though I am from Akwa Ibom State. Publicly, Duke's story sets him aside from the rest of his fellow contemporaries in politics, especially the corrupt ones. I guess there are others whose notable achievements may eclipse his, but have not received the due recognition bestowed on Duke. Calabar is steeped with a rich history that Duke has taken advantage of, in order to transform the city of Calabar into a renowned tourist haven. Yeah, like most people, he has detractors who would try to soil his good work with unmerited allegations.

Still, I would advice caution before plunging into the turbulent terrain of politics. Na true say him be member of Grail movement?

wether he is in grail movement or grail no movement, the issue is he is good compared to his colleagues.

Yes. Don is in Grail Movement. His wife is a senior member of the Redeemed Church. It doesn't matter whether he worships God or Allah. We've had so many so-called worshippers before and they've all ended up stealing all the money. We need a man that connects with our aspirations, feels the pain like us all and believes that he will one day die and would be called upon by d almighty to give account of his sojourn on earth. Duke fits this bill and so, should be given an opportunity to prove his mettle and give us good quality leadership for the first time in our chequered history.

I think we need a break, a big break in this country. Even if Duke were to hail from the sun or moon, I wud have said d same thing about him. This has nothing to do with where he comes from or what he worships. It has nothing to do with his color, tribe, religion or tongue. We need him, or any other person like him. Imagine this guy at the White House with George Bush, or at 10 Downing Street with Blair, shaking hands and talking as pally to pally, not the drab grey-haired hagard looking African president that the whole world has known us to produce. His appearance would speak volumes on our behalf.

tell them

Yes. Don is in Grail Movement. His wife is a senior member of the Redeemed Church.

Note for campaign writers: his family is a model of religious tolerance.

Donald duke has vision, but delivering on his vision is the problem. The only thing he has absolutely delivered on is the state's christmas festival.

Economic development in calabar was as aresult of Nigeria 99

Infrastrucrtural development e.g roads was his initiative when coming in 99. But it was also a neccesity for Nigeria 99. The roads evryone says he has built, he is still owing strabag construction company almost N 5 billion. They have taken him to court and have left the state for good.

Thats why he hasn't been able to complete a certain highway for almost three years , because no good construction company wants to work with Cross river. Julius Berger is as result of financing by a consortium of banks. e.g Tony elumelu led standard trust.

I believe Donald Duke will make a great President, but we have to be cautious. He is not as clean as he seems.

He does want the best for Cross River and i rate him higher than any other Governor in terms of vision , but can he truly deliver the economic reforms that Nigeria needs. He has done nothing i the present for the economic state of Cross River. Except for hope in Tinapa in the Long term.

Can we all get real please? Politics has always been known to be a dirty game and as such there is no saint presently governing any state. Even Bush and Blair have a lot to hide but for crying out loud, these people deliver. Only in Nigeria will you have someone ammassing billions he will never finish spending before kicking the bucket, Why?? Greed.!!! No one is saying you shouldnt take a little advantage of the office to better your life and those of your dear ones (I certainly would) but be considerate about everyone else.

Duke looks like the type that cares and wants to make a change, and like someone pointed out, think of him beside Bush or Blair discussing business!!

Well form from my side He is a dreamer,though he is an handsome governor but what he has done to his state alone is not enogh for the post he is aspiring for.I mean the pple in his state alone can't put him there.
though with God all things are possible,provided he is one track with God.'cos if God says yes nobody can say no irespective of riging.

[quote][/quote]Infrastrucrtural development e.g roads was his initiative when coming in 99. But it was also a neccesity for Nigeria 99. The roads evryone says he has built, he is still owing strabag construction company almost N 5 billion. They have taken him to court and have left the state for good.

Niterider, don't tell a lie in the forum coz u may pollute a lot of minds. Strabag hit a new ground in Equitorial Guinea and therefore decided to leave the shores of Nigeria for good, including Cross River State, Lagos and Abuja. It had nothing to do with any specific project. They wound up their operations in Nigeria, sold their equipment and relocated to EQ GUINEA. Check your facts! Roads contruction have been a continous non-stop exercise in Calabar since 1999 to date. Calabar wasn't the only host of Nigeria 99 and so, could not be the only beneficiary of that jamboree. Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Ibadan and PH were centres too. Why don't we see the same 'benefits' of those other places? Apart from Adamu Mu'azu of Bauchi State, I want you Niterider to tell us any other gov that can truly say anybody in the street, just anybody can speak good of. 94% of the people cannot be wrong. if you still doubt me, check out the poll result in this forum, Anybody who has a question to ask about Calabar, should direct them to me. I dey Calabar now o! No b small enjoyment o!

PAt Utomi is good and if you dont know,

cabali:

i would like to see that as well and please don't mention gov Attah!

meanwhile, seun just mention Mrs Iweala and Pat Utomi. well i don't know about pat utomi; he seems to be misplaced and not serious. His patito's gang is one achievement and what the hell is all that about?

Pat utomi is more than just patito's gang my friend, he is the chiarman of the former Platinum Bank and the Vice Chairman of Bank PHB, he owns the lagos business school and he is more business oriented.

Okonjo iweala considering the fact that she was recommended by world bank to the Presi himself, and aside moping all the currency,she is good no doubt but becoming the presi, she is far from it.

Donald Duke, If we all must see qualification as a yard stick 2becoming a good leader then obj wouldnt have been there in the first place, atiku wouldnt have been the vice president and iyayi or azzem or akala wouldnt have been running oyo state. Qualification is nothing but a mere paper and we should let that sink, in the world of today, your skill is what we need or of what good is a qualification you cant defend, pleaseeeeeeee, Donald duke has done well as a governor and i ll say it again, aside my ashiwaju bola ahmed tinubu, i would pick donald duke. he's brillitant and he is intelligent, a true nigerian man.

celemel,

strabag left calabar because of a debt cross river state couldn't pay. why they eventually left Nigeria is their business, but thats why they left calabar.


Strabag took the Cross River state government to court. economic growth in calabar came as a result of Nigeria 99. Not donald duke. Do you realize that it has taken almost 3 years to dualize ndidem isang iso rd. Thats because there is no competent construction company.

mention one thing that Donald has done that has brought economic growth. except his xmas festival which i mentioned earlier.
the pineapple project did not work, at the port water was to shallow for ships to berths, when he tried to make calabar a free port.

Tell me one booming business in calabar as a result of Donald dukes reforms. Obudu cattle ranch has no major economic impact on calabar, it attracts tourists to the ranch. The northern Local governments in Cross River have been largely ignored thats why they hate him.

Mirage, channelview, le chateau, pinnacle hotels are as aresult of nigeria 99. so don't be bedazzled by good looks, great speech and xmas partying.
ciivil servants are still owed salaries. and to make it worse he has mortgaged federal government allocation to cross river state due to loan he took for tinapa.

if tinapa doesn't work, there will be a huge crisis. Don't get me wrong i believe he has vision, but delivering on the vision is my issue.

However u want to put go ahead but am sure Pat Utomi shud not be mentioned in this forum! Open a thread where u can discuss about issues and quarrel with urselves without maturity like he does on patito's gang

So what are you trying to say Nightrider If you choose to pick on Duke as a non performer, then please mention just one other governor who has done better and is worthy of this high office? And please don't mention any Tinubu here (like Ashiwaju). And if you say that development was brought to Calabar because of Nigeria 99 then fine. But has it occured to you that the only reason you can still see this development 7 years after is because of a good maintenance culture? That costs money you know!! What signs of Nigeria 99 can you see in the other states that played hosts??

Give credit when it is due,

nightrider:

celemel,

strabag left calabar because of a debt cross river state couldn't pay. why they eventually left Nigeria is their business, but thats why they left calabar.


Strabag took the Cross River state government to court. economic growth in calabar came as a result of Nigeria 99. Not donald duke. Do you realize that it has taken almost 3 years to dualize ndidem isang iso rd. Thats because there is no competent construction company.

mention one thing that Donald has done that has brought economic growth. except his xmas festival which i mentioned earlier.
the pineapple project did not work, at the port water was to shallow for ships to berths, when he tried to make calabar a free port.

Tell me one booming business in calabar as a result of Donald dukes reforms. Obudu cattle ranch has no major economic impact on calabar, it attracts tourists to the ranch. The northern Local governments in Cross River have been largely ignored thats why they hate him.

Mirage, channelview, le chateau, pinnacle hotels are as aresult of nigeria 99. so don't be bedazzled by good looks, great speech and xmas partying.
ciivil servants are still owed salaries. and to make it worse he has mortgaged federal government allocation to cross river state due to loan he took for tinapa.

if tinapa doesn't work, there will be a huge crisis. Don't get me wrong i believe he has vision, but delivering on the vision is my issue.

I know Most people are never always satisfied with what they see or get.

If you think Duke is not the best candidate Bring out your candidate lets compare.

i would pick soludo. he has vision and he can deliver.
what Nigeria needs is an economic reformer.

Piddo:

So what are you trying to say Nightrider If you choose to pick on Duke as a non performer, then please mention just one other governor who has done better and is worthy of this high office? And please don't mention any Tinubu here (like Ashiwaju). And if you say that development was brought to Calabar because of Nigeria 99 then fine. But has it occured to you that the only reason you can still see this development 7 years after is because of a good maintenance culture? That costs money you know!! What signs of Nigeria 99 can you see in the other states that played hosts??

Give credit when it is due,

it is either you are sending the right message to the wrong person, please take your time and READ my post clearly dude.

cabali:

However u want to put go ahead but am sure Pat Utomi should not be mentioned in this forum! Open a thread where u can discuss about issues and quarrel with urselves without maturity like he does on patito's gang

It would be a waste of time explaining to you but next time address yourself as being unmatured and if you dont have any other point than talking about patito's gang then forget it.