Two of Cross River State's signature projects, the Bakassi Deep seaport and the 275 kilometres superhighway have received a boost, following firm commitment by the federal government to accord them special attention in 2022 to ensure a full realization of the projects.

News of the federal government's support for the projects was disclosed yesterday by the state governor, Sir Ben Ayade at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport, following his one-week visit to Abuja.

He also disclosed that the Bakassi Deep Seaport has been approved as Nigeria’s first agro deep seaport by the federal Government.

Expressing excitement at the outcome of his meeting with key officials of the Presidency, Governor Ayade hinted said he "had a very wonderful session with the presidency and I want to announce with joy that the presidency has shown very strong committment to the Bakassi Deep seaport and the superhighway which is basically the core reason of my being in Abuja for this long."

Ayade who acknowledged the role played by these key presidency officials, also thanked them for their support.

"I want to thank the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Mr. Boss Mustapha, Chief of Staff to the President, Professor Ibrahim Gambari, Minister for Transport, His Excellency, Rotimi Amaechi, his colleague in the Aviation Ministry, Seriki Hadi, Minister of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Zainab Shamsuna Ahmed."

Similarly, the governor extended his appreciation to his colleague governors from the North, noting that "they also spoke strongly in support of the projects as well as others I had met in the course of sharing my dreams and thoughts on the Bakassi Deep seaport with an evacuation corridor through the 275km superhighway."

Continuing, the governor added that "the President is committed to seeing that this project is realised and I want to specially thank the Senate President and the Speaker of the House of Representatives and the strong committment of the holistic team of the APC family who are fully committed to the realization of this opportunity. Besides also, it is only natural for the South South and the South Eastern flanks to have a direct maritime connection to Northern Nigeria."

Re-echoing his ambition for the two projects, Ayade said: "Again, I would like to reiterate that my ambition is to take Atlantic Ocean closer to Northern Nigeria to allow them the beneficiation process of taking full advantage of solid minerals deposits that abound in the northern part. Unfortunately, this huge mineral deposits will remain unexploited as far as there is no access to a maritime corridor.

"So the Bakassi deep seaport with an evaluation corridor through the superhighway creates a great opportunity for Northern Nigeria to have a bliss and an opportunity to have a getway into financial freedom."

According to the governor, "Indeed, I believe that the prosperity agenda that will be ushered into Northern Nigeria, occasioned by the existence of this superhighway and the deep seaport will be unbelievable, because as it is today, Nigeria has only one maritime getway in terms of commercial maritime transaction."

Speaking on the general outlook for the country in relation to oil, Ayade quipped: "I think that Southern Nigeria must also come to the understanding that oil is gradually becoming a thing of the past. By 2030, there will be no engine, be it diesel or petrol driven that will be manufactured. So with Nigeria consuming about 65million litres of petrol in a day, you will then expect that quantity to drop. The demand for refined products will drop and the demand for solid minerals like coaltar will be on the rise and that, we have in abundance in Northern Nigeria.

"So whether the north or the south, we both need each other and we must come together and share the prosperity that this country has got. That is what I am preaching and I strongly believe it is the way for us to move forward as a country."

Governor Ayade arrives at Calabar from Abuja, the workaholic governor who was engaged with the United Nations, Federal Government, as well as prolific business partners during the weekend, was received by his Deputy, Prof. Ivara Esu, and other top government functionaries at the Airforce wing of the Margaret Ekpo Int'l Airport Calabar, today, today, July 05, 2021.

Photo insert Gov. Ayade in conversation with the Chairman, Government House Press, Alh. Rasheed Olanrewanju and his media aides.

Kemi Adesun.

The Nation was agog with some sort of Jubilation when the Two Houses of LawMakers passed the PIB that had been crawling back and forth since 2008.

While the PIB addresses many of the Concerns of Oil Producing Communities it does very Little to Address the challenges of Communities impacted by the Oil Producing Communities.

Professor Ben Ayade Governor of Cross River State openly expressed his reservations about this in an interview recently.

Many besides Cross Riverians are Unaware that Cross River is the Dot in the Circle of NigerDeltan Oil Producing states,standing out as a laughable stock dying of thirst in the middle of the Ocean.
The only Niger Delta State grossly impacted by oil, but without access to it's 13% oil revenue derivation

A quick back track, In 2007 the Nigerian Senate refused to cede the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroun

However by a stroke of Anomaly on the 14th of August 2008 the territory was completely ceded to Cameroun.
No one Prepared the Government for what was to come from the sudden yanking away of its oil revenue resources and attendant 13% derivatives.Today Cross River State Sits very uncomfortably at number 35 in Revenue allocation from the Federal Government

A laughing stock example as the Only State in the NigerDelta sitted in such a Precarious position despite the impact on its Economy by the impacts of Neighboring Oil Producing states & Country who enjoy the Largesse of Revenue Allocation and also 13% Derivative.


Celebrated as it should the passing of the PIB leaves a gaping hole that requires urgent attention by the LawMakers to fill the impasse created in the Economy of Cross Rivers state by the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula.

This gangerous sore has to be reopened to include the impact of Oil on surrounding communities & not just Producing States

Cross Rivers's other resources also have to be quickly tapped into by the Federal Government or the State given a Fiat to quickly start taking advantage of its other Oil Options or Gas Deposits to provide additional income for the gaping hole the ceding of Bakassi Peninsula has created in the Economy of the State.


Kemi Adesun
Patriot.

David Peter, Ayade Advocate

Cross River State Governor, His Excellency Ben Ayade, recently deliberated with the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha over the construction of the superhighway and the country's first agro-industrial port the Bakassi Deep Sea Port in the state.

The Governor, in chitchat with Mr. Mustapha, said, Northern Nigeria is consecrated with eclectic mineral resources, and with the formation of the Super Highway and Bakassi Deep Seaport, it would unwrap a window of alternative to the northern region.

His words “Crude oil is a thing of the past because, in 2030, fossil oil-driven cars will come to an end. The world is shifting towards solar energy and by extension, towards solid minerals.”

Ayade added “The North is so blessed but they must have access to the Atlantic Ocean to enable them the opportunity to do export. That is why the iron ore, the tantalite, the gold, and diamond deposits need access to the export corridor, a maritime domain to have a full benefit of the seaport,” he assured.

In riposte, the Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Mr. Boss Mustapha substantiated the governor of his unwavering supports. He lauded the Cross River boss for putting up with an industrial hub that would decouple the State economy.

Mustapha, also expressed contentment of his visit two (2) years ago at the Cross River Rice Seedling, Cross River Poultry Processing Plant, CALACHIKA, and the Ayade Industrial Estate in Calabar. Mustapha commended Ayade's industry initiatives and ethnicity in politics to socket the northern region to the Atlantic Ocean.

He, however, emphasized the need to stimulate the growths of Small and Medium Scale Enterprises (SMSE) to trim unemployment and foster job creation in an overture that would consolidate his industrial policies.

©Ayade Advocate Correspondent

As part of effort to boost the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state, Cross River governor, Senator Ben Ayade, has promised a quick completion of the 27 megawatts Adiabo power plant at the Tinapa Business Resort.

Ayade who gave the assurance while inspecting the level of work along with Mr. Jitender Sachdeva, President, Skipperseil Group, Nigeria, said "the idea is to ensure that the MSME's have opportunity to have electricity and grow the local economy."

On the trickle down effects to MSMEs, Ayade who spoke on the tarrif structure disclosed that "we have a tariff regime that structures gas supply systems in such a way that there is a discounted price when you are doing gas to power whereby you sell gas at subsided rate to be able to generate electricity so that the cascading effect will be such that the public out there, the SME's will have power at very subsidized price."

According to the governor, "this project is actually a social electricity project intended to give electricity to the poorest of the poor and communities around."

On the installed capacity, the governor said: "We have 27mw here with a potential to install another 27mw which gives us a combined cycle that can bring in a third. When we get to that capacity, we will be in a position to feed the national grid.”

Governor Ayade said his government was considering bringing in a third party investor "who will be the operator of this plant, having been installed by the main contractor skipper. And we are happy to announce to Nigerians that Cross River State is getting another power plant of 27mw , the one in parliamentary is 23mw. The cumulative effect of this is that Cross River State and indeed Calabar in particular will be the first state capital that will run on 24hours electricity without fail."

Expressing excitement at the multiplier effects of the project, Ayade noted that "the project is coming also at a time that we are pushing for our metropolitan fibre optic line to give us power to homes, city wifi and smart wifi and wifi to homes, which means that you can have a wifi connectivity directly from your house at a negligible cost.

"So the catalytic combination of subsidized power alongside with the wifi services will give Calabar the 21st century exposure we dream about and that's where we are.

"We are at 80% installation capacity. We just have few containers we are expecting to arrive shortly. By the close of next week, we should be done with all imports and focus on the 8inch gas pipeline. We already have the modular scrobars installed, so we will just tap into the Savannah energy pipeline and circuit it into the system and properly socket just like we have socketed into the centre. We will socket into the electricity value chain and bring value to Cross Riverians."

On the completion date, "they are looking at April next year. But I am back tracking it to December this year because my people have to have electricity in greater Calabar. But of course once the plant in Odukpani starts running, this one runs and the one in Parliamentary runs, we will be having a combined capacity of almost 600mw generated within Calabar," Ayade hinted, adding that "it therefore means that we have to set up a state transmission line that will share power to the rest of the state all the way to the Northern Senatorial District, particularly the Obudu Cattle Ranch where we are currently doing a three megawatts hydro power plant in combination with the wind system.
"So I am focusing on energy as a way of liberating our people from the horrifying dependence on the very difficult national grid. And I am proud to say that a Cross Riverian is the Minister of State for Power and he is working aggressively, supporting us to see to the realization of all these power projects."

For food system to bring desired value, quality of food is critical, the governor of Cross River State, Senator (Prof.) Ben Ayade has said.

The governor stayed this at the National Consolidatory Dialogue on the United Nations Food Summit 2021 in Abuja on Tuesday.

He also said for Nigeria to overcome the unpleasant challenge of stunted growth among her citizenry, the objective of the food system should go beyond financing and include nutrient content of food which entails food fortification.

According to Governor Ayade, government must deliberately sponsor researches that would help improve food system in Nigeria like the Chinese did after the second world war having discovered that her people experienced stunted growth due to poor quality of food.

He explained that food fortification was ‘precision technology aimed at improving quality of food, urging the federal government to as a matter of policy, also focus on food fortification while pursuing its food sufficiency agenda.

He added that super abundance of food with low nutrient quality would continue to lead to malnutrition and stunted growth as being experienced in the country.

“Again, there is a direct relationship between hunger and anger. When people became hungry, anger sets in. This anger often finds expression in restiveness and all sorts of crimes. So, food sufficiency is critical but food quality is twice as critical. All tiers of government have the responsibility to ensure that technology is made available to farmers to help improve our food system”, the governor inferred.

Ayade who chaired the event on behalf of the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, maintained that the 21st century agriculture was driven by technology with focus on knowledge engineering, arguing that small-holders farming as presently practiced in the country was old-fashioned.

“In Thailand for instance, it is the responsibility of the government to provide irrigation, inputs, extension services and off takers. The responsibility of the farmer is to nurse his crops. We still practice 20th century agriculture system in Nigeria. We must entrench technology driven agriculture with focus on knowledge engineering”, Ayade said.

The governor who identified financing as a major setback to agriculture in the country submitted that it was very difficult for sub nationals to focus on agriculture considering the meagre allocation from the federation account accruing to many states who struggle to pay salaries.

His words; “It’s always very challenging for sub nationals whose federal allocation is not even enough to pay salaries to begin to focus on agriculture. If I was to speak at any forum, I would speak on food security, food system, theory and practice. In practice, most of the advice and suggestions given during the dialogue session are underpinned by financing. When there is no finance, there is very little you can do. The problems are known, the solutions are well articulated but the reality is that there is inadequate financing to drive the process to expected ends.

“The federal government has a responsibility beyond budgetary provision, to take an extra step in collaboration with the United Nations in order to fully achieve the objectives of her agriculture revolution. It is sad that Nigeria is number 2 in the statistics of stunted growth in the world. We must be very committed to addressing issues at sub national level. One of my key focus is agriculture. I have set up agro-based industries in every senatorial districts of the state. Our investment in agriculture is massive. We are the largest producers of cassava in Nigeria. In Obubra, we have set up a cassava processing plant, that will produce commercial starch. We are fortifying our variety to produce quality cassava flour as alternative to wheat flour. You have to have a combination of knowledge and funding to be able to bring value otherwise we will continue to remain at the academic level”.

At the event was the Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo who had earlier declared the summit open before delegating Governor Ayade to chair proceedings on his behalf.

Other dignitaries at the event include Deputy Secretary-General of the UN, Ms. Amina Mohammed, Ministers of Agriculture and Rural Development, Alhaji Mohammed Nanono; Health, Dr Osagie Ehinare; Finance, Budget, and National Planning, Hajiya Zainab Ahmed; Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed; Minister of State for Budget and National Planning, Prince Clem Agba, and the convener of the Dialogue, Mrs Olusola Idowu.

Also at the event was Prof. Kola Amigo from the Ahmadu Bello University, who presented findings from the various UN Food System dialogues held in the country, as well as Nigeria's development partners, and other dignitaries from the academia, private and public sectors.

By Rasheed Olanrewaju

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade has called on the United States Government to galvanize support for Nigeria in a bid to end insurgencies in the Country.

Ayade made the call in Calabar when he received in audience, the United States Naval Attache to Nigeria team led by Sara Dimmick in his office.

Ayade who said peace in Nigeria is peace in Africa wants American Government to use its international intelligence network to establish peace deal in Nigeria, saying the Federal Government under President Buhari is trying its best.

This Joint action between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the United States and its allies, according to Ayade will bring lasting peace to both North Eastern Nigeria and other troubled zones in the Country.

On her part, the US Naval Attache To Nigeria, leutenant commander Sara Dimmick said the US places important interest in Nigeria, assuring that efforts are in place to support peace building in the country.

The US Military Defence Attache was in Cross River State as part of familiarization tour to maritime states in line with its rules of engagement in Nigeria.

The Cross River Chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says it is proud of the achievements of the State Governor, Dr Ben Ayade.

This is contained in a statement signed on Wednesday by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Bassey Ita, in Calabar.

He frowned at attempts by chieftains of the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to downplay the achievements of the governor during the inauguration of their party’s secretariat in Calabar.

Ita said that the same PDP chieftains had few weeks ago commended Ayade on his achievements.

“Clearly, the PDP has not gotten over the loss of Ayade and so it’s still gripping. Nobody takes their assessment of Ayade seriously as it is grossly partisan and inconsistent with realities on ground,” he said.

The publicity secretary noted that based on Ayade’s proactive measures, Cross River remains one of the safest states in the country.

“While the APC in Cross River sympathises with the PDP for losing a gold fish in Ayade, the party wishes to remind the opposition party that some of its chieftains lack the moral fibre to question the governor’s decision to move to the APC.

“We know of a number of them who started off in the defunct All Nigerian People’s Party and then defected to the PDP and from the PDP to the APC and then back to the PDP.

“Some also started off their political careers in the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) where they swore to swim or sink with the party only to later sneak into the PDP.

“The APC hereby advises these PDP elements, who see Ayade’s movement to the ruling party as a bitter pill too difficult to swallow, to come to terms with the grim reality of their lose as the governor has left their party for good,” he stated.

David Peter

The Chairman of Bengies Group, Engr. Ben Akak, has commended Ayade's aggressiveness to stimulate agriculture in the Southern region.

Engineer Ben emphasized that Agriculture is the way forward to crease Cross River economy fortunes while unearthing the states and counties ties that link Cross River.

According to him, From the creek of Bakassi to the hills of Obanliku in Cross River State are enriched with fertile grounds and mineral resources.

Engineer Ben demonstrated that the Cross River shares boundaries with Benue State to the north, Ebonyi and the Abia States to the west, to the east by Sud-Ouest Province, claimed by both Ambazonia and the Cameroon Republic, and to the south by Akwa-Ibom and the Atlantic Ocean can all be supply with seafood, fresh vegetables, cash crops, flowers from Cross River State.

He applauded the Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade on his agricultural blueprint for propelling agriculture in the Southern-Nigeria.

“Agriculture is the way forward to carve our frugality, the state governor is doing satisfactorily through the establishment of industries across the 18 Local Government Areas. Cross River is consecrated with a vast landmass, our soils are fertile, implying that we can grow and supply agro-products to the norths and other regions or countries that abound our province. “The green revolution is now. We must adopt and support the governor's agricultural pursuits,” He said.

Engineer Akak, however, urged young cross Riverians to embark on agriculture to strengthen the food security, and also allot their vigor to end food shortage in the State.

“Young people need to take up agribusiness to enable us to have a sustainable diet and with the governor's green revolution our resilience youths would be supported with agricultural inputs to strengthen cross-river food security,” he affirmed.

APC Stalwarts Storms Eniong, Received By Thousands of Supporters

June 13 2021 will go down in history as one day where the people of Eniong Ward in Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State made strong affirmation to what political party they seek to affiliate themselves with .

Men, women and youths from all clans and villages assembled at the Atan Onoyom village square to welcome their political leaders who have come from far and wide to make statements which would positively affect their generations and those yet unborn.

They have come with a progressive message, an assurance for their well-being, the future of their children and the need to remain relevant in the political space of Cross River State and Nigeria as a whole.

The All Progressive Congress is the product, they have come to market it, with evidence to purposeful leadership and with all sense of credibility and honesty, they said, it was time " we socket to the centre", following the footsteps of the Digital Governor, Senator Ben Ayade.

Leading a team of state government appointees and elected office holders, the Honourable Commissioner for Finance, Mr Asuquo Ekpenyong thanked the people for the grand reception and honour done in them as he said, it's a sign of welcome and acceptance.

Mr Ekpenyong said, the All Progressive Congress remains the only relevant and functional political party in the state, saying the governor's exit from the People's Democratic Party signalled the collapse of the party which was before now dominant in the state.

He said politics of APC is focused on attracting development to the state and with the projection in the new few months, the All Progressive Congress will have a smooth ride in the next General elections.

Chairman of the All Progressive Congress, Cross River State Chapter, Senator Matthew Mbu assured the decampees that their interests are all protected as the party remain all embracing and United for a common goal.

Senator Mbu who was represented by the Technical Assistant to the Vice President, Mr Philip Obin stated that, there's no preferential treatment to anyone either new or old, insisting that once anyone rightly registers as a member of the party, they are qualified to vote and be voted for to any position of their choice.


In her remarks, the Director General of the Cross River State Primary Healthcare Development Agency, Dr Janet Ekpenyong praised the Governor for the foresight in engaging youths especially women in contributing their own quota to stage and Nation's Development.

According to Dr Ekpenyong, more women are now involved in decision making process in the state which she said has contributed to the huge success recorded by the present administration.

She promised her total commitment and loyalty to Governor Ben Ayade and the All Progressive Congress, a party which she said represent progressiveness and development.


Other respondents and speakers include, Mr Ekanem Ekpenyong, Commissioner I, Cross River State Sports Commission, Member representing Odukpani in the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Francis Asuquo, Leader of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon Peter Odey, The Cross River State Honourable Commissioner for Environment, Hon. Nfom Bassey, The Chairman of Calabar Municipality Hon. Eke Effiong, Senior Special Assistant to Governor Ben Ayade on New Media and Logistics, Mr Offiong Onoyom among others.

The Cross River state government wishes to remind the general public that the ban on public procession and gathering in the state is still very much in force.

Due to the prevailing security situation in the country, government  will not permit any procession or gathering under any guise on June 12 which is designated as Democracy Day

Government urges any one or group of persons wishing to mark the June 12 Democracy Day to do so quietly within the confines of their homes.

Parents are hereby advised to keep a firm grip on their kids and wards to prevent them from falling prey to agents of destabilisation.

Government warns that it will not allow anyone or group breach the peace being enjoyed in the state.

Therefore, the full weight of the law will be brought to bear on violators of the ban on procession.

As a responsible and people-oriented government, the Cross River state government under Professor Ayade wishes to assure all citizens that it will continue to protect  lives and properties in the state.

Signed

Christian Ita

Special Adviser, Media and Publicity to Governor

Cross River Chief Judge hand over renovated Customary Court of Appeal Building to Judges

The challenges of the inadequate courtroom in Cross River State will soon be a thing of the past as the Chief Judge of the State, Justice Akon Ikpeme, hands over the newly renovated Customary Court of Appeal in Calabar to the judges.

The project, which was initiated within his three months as a substantive Chief Judge according to Justice Ikpeme, will proffer a solution to the hindrance on the dispensation of justice.

The Chief Judge said the era of judges sharing court rooms at either magistrates or customary courts is over.

She urged the beneficiary judges to live up to expectations as more responsibility will be given to them in the course of their assignment.

Also speaking at the event, the Chairman of Bar and Bench Forum in Cross River State and former Attorney General and Commissioner for Justice, urged the government to pay more attention to the need of judiciary to guarantee speedy justice delivery in the state.

C'River First Lady, Linda Ayade visits Aisha Buhari

During the week, members of the Southern Governors’ Wives Forum paid a courtesy call on the initiator of the Forum and First Lady of Nigeria, Dr. (Mrs) Aisha Buhari at the villa. Speaking at the occasion, the First Lady expressed joy at seeing the Governors’ Wives and congratulated them for all they have been doing to minimize different aspects of social vices confronting the country. She charged the Governors’ wives to continue to do their best in seeking the support of their governor-husbands as they strive to consolidate on their efforts in leaving lasting legacies.

In similar development, the Southern Governors’ Wives Forum who later met at Edo House in Abuja elected the First Lady of the State of Osun, Her Excellency, Mrs. Kafayat Oyetola, as their new Chairperson. Oyetola takes over from the First Lady of Edo, Her Excellency, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki.

While delivering her acceptance speech, Mrs. Oyetola praised the leadership prowess of her predecessor, Mrs. Betsy Obaseki whom she described as a pragmatic leader who fostered unity among the sisters beyond boundaries during her tenure.

She thanked her colleagues for unanimously electing her and pledged to build on the harmony and achievements of her predecessors while committing to the achievement of the programs and projects listed for execution across the country by the SGWF.

Also elected are, the First Lady of Akwa Ibom, Mrs. Martha Udom Emmanuel as Vice President; the First Lady of Bayelsa, Mrs. Patience Diri elected as Secretary; First Lady of Imo State, Mrs.Chioma Ikeaka-Uzodimma, Treasurer; while the First Lady of Ogun State, Mrs. Bamidele Abiodun and First Lady of Abia State, Mrs., Nkechi Ikpeazu, emerge as Welfare Officer and PRO respectively.

Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade (R) being presented with Blueprint Newspaper Governor of the year award on Agro-industrialization by the Senate President, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan (L) during the 10th anniversary celebration of Blueprint Newspaper in Abuja - Thursday.

Pix 2 / 3
Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade (M) being presented with Blueprint Newspaper Governor of the year award on Agro-industrialization by the Senate President, Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Lawan (L), accompanied by Chairman CEO, Blueprint Newspaper, Alhaji Mohammed Idris, (R) at the 10th anniversary of Blueprint Newspaper in Abuja - Thursday.

One year of superlative performance by Calabar south Chairman Honorable Esther Edet Bassey.

The Hallmark of a true leader is that willingness to stick with a bold course of action , leaders instill in their people a call for success and a believe in themselves.

Positive leaders empower people to accomplish their goals. This explains the person in Honorable Mrs Esther Bassey a leader that executes her qualities in administration with passion .

In her first 100 days in office, Honorable Esther Bassey as proven herself to be a pace setter of Chairmen in the state .

Immediately after her swearing-in on the second of June 2020 by His Excellency the Governor of Cross River State, Honorable Esther immediately hit the ground running by providing hope to her people through her giant strides.

So far, she has already achieved a lot of set goals within her first one year. This includes, restoration of power supply to the council , renovation and furnishing of the legislative block of the council , renovation of the renowned Hawkins cemetary, construction of two mini round abouts at palace road in Anantigha, renovation and furnishing of the chairman's office.

Attracted community and social development projects to the local government, which includes, the renovation of 5 class room blocks and construction of solar powered bore holes to provide portable water , and replacement of 500 kva transformer.

The health sector was not left out as the Honorable Chairman took the sensitization of Covid 19 to the nooks and crannies of the LGA , as well as sharing christmas package to babies in all the health centres in Calabar South. Hosted and advocated for polio immunization in calabar south. Partnered with the brotherhood of the cross and star to share Covid 19 materials to over 30 primary schools in the council. Hosted the flag-off campaign of maternal new born and child health wellness. Hosted world malaria day 2021 , and joined in the door to door distribution of mosquito nets in calabar south.

Staff of the council have benefitted from E- business sensitization and subsequent empowerment for small businesses.

Flag-off of skill acquisition and empowerment program to youths and women in all 12 wards of the LGA .

Facilitated and ensured Calabar south women benefitted from the federal government cash grant scheme.

Despite the devastating loss suffered by the council during the Endsars protest, this has not derailed Honorable Esther Bassey's vision to completely turn around the fortunes of the council.

On security, the council chair has the full cooperation of the security outfit Operation Akpakwu and local vigilantes to ensure peace in the LGA .

Over 100 new lock up shops have been constructed at the popular watt market to boost revenue for the council , she embarked on a tree planting campaign in collaboration with the rotary club to boost the Eco system.


In Education,School Children are not left out as she has donated educational materials to all the school children in the council as well as renovation of schools around the local government. Registration of all calabar south youths free of charge for the 2021 jamb registration.

Hosted the Hausa Fulani community during Sallah celebration for a better synergy .

Payment of stipends to physically challenged persons in the local government.

Awards.

In her short stay in office, Honorable Esther Bassey has won several awards which includes; The Quint Essential Woman award by the federal ministry of women affairs , award of honor by Nacriss world wide Cross River State Chapter , Calabar heritage award as most friendly personality , award of honor by house 2007 in recognition of her service to humanity , award of honor for her outstanding contribution towards the growth of PGSG and Nigerian students at large by the post graduate students of government senate PGSGS, decorated as member institute of tourism professionals of Nigeria .

In what was a challenging year for everyone due to Covid 19 and the Endsars protests, Honorable Esther Bassey did not allow any of this to be a distraction and managed to achieve all this in one year. Indeed the next two years will witness a bumber harvest for calabar south under the stewardship of Honorable Esther Edet Bassey. No wonder her constituents have nicknamed her the "Queen of the South"

*Nursing & Midwifery Council Of Nigeria Calabar Zonal Office Commissioned By Secretary General /Registrar Of Council Alh. Farouk Umar*

With a strong desire to ensure that CRS continue to stand tall in the health sector of Nigeria, amongst other numerous records breaking achievements of the Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade's administration through his workaholic and dynamic Health Commissioner Dr Betta Edu, the State now has a Zonal Office which will bring core Nursing administration to the State for the first time in history.

Receiving the Registrar/Secretary General of the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria Alh. Farouk Umar and his team on behalf of the State Governor Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade, the CRS Commissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu thanked and commended him for his visionary and tireless efforts in bringing more innovations to the Nursing profession in Nigeria. "Let me also use this medium to thank and commend you for your resilient and hardworking nature that has brought innovation and massive changes in the Nursing Council which contributed immensely to building the health sector of Nigeria.

"Your ability to raise and keep standard without playing politics with accreditation of nursing institutions is commendable. For a Country that wishes to achieve Universal Health Coverage with little Health workforce, we must do everything possible to strengthen the Councils to produce more of all the cadres of health workers. As a State, we also admire and appreciate your support that has so far given full accreditation to all our Schools of nursing with increased student entries. Cross River is set to have the first College of nursing sciences in South South Nigeria which remains a massive breakthrough for us as a State. Finally, bringing your Zonal Office to Cross River has made us the envy of the Country. We therefore thank you and your entire team for this huge honor, we are assuring you that the purpose for which this Office was created will be achieved.

On his part, the Registrar/Secretary General during his reaction thanked the government of Sen. Prof Ben Ayade who through his Health Commissioner Dr Betta Edu has been able to achieve outstanding results especially in the health sector for the State. "I want to on behalf of my team thank the Health Commissioner for the warm reception so far. I owe every success to the Governor and his Health Commissioner as her hard work and resilience is why the State has achieved all of this. A couple of Months ago we were here for the accreditation exercise and again her hard work and effort gave Cross River schools full accreditation status. We are back this time to commission the State's Zonal Office. I've never seen a woman being so committed and active as always I keep wishing she was from my State as in her tenure the State has achieved so much in the health sector.

"While I charge the State to use the Office judiciously, I want to also assure the CRSMOH of our regular support/synergy, thanking everyone especially the government of CRS and his Health Commissioner, her entire team and the CRS and Akwa Ibom State NANNM, our Nursing student for being so pragmatic, committed and dedicated to making this process a reality. For every other dignitary here present, we salute you and also thank you for being a part of this success. Am so proud of this State and her leadership."

In a vote of thanks, the Director of Nursing Services Dr Pauline Obute thanked His Excellency Sen. Prof Ben Ayade, Commissioner and her team, the Registrar and Secretary General Alh. Farouk Umar, CRS will forever be indebted to you and your entire team for all your tremendous efforts and support as we reassure you that this Zonal Office will be used as a means of bringing Nursing services closer to our people amongst other purposes it's built for. The stress of traveling to Zonal Offices in other States has finally come to an end."

Highlights of the event was the official commissioning of the State's Zonal Office by Alh. Farouk Umar who was in the company of the CRS Commissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu, the Chief Medical Director of UCTH Prof Ikpeme A. lkpeme ably represented by the CMAC Dr Michael Eyong, Medical Director of the Federal Neuropsychiatric Hospital Dr Bassey Edet, DG CRSPHCDA Dr Janet Ekpenyong, Permanent Secretary CRSMOH Barr. Takon Asu Takon, Provost of Colleges, NANNM CRS and Akwa Ibom Chairmen and their representatives, Directors of the CRSMOH and CRSPHCDA, and a host of other very important dignitaries.

Earlier today, Cross River State Governor, His Excellency, Sir Ben Ayade granted audience to representatives of Cross River Igbo Community in Calabar.

The community leaders present a portrait frame to the Executive Governor in honor of his exemplary leadership and ethnicity in politics.

GOODWILL MESSAGE

The Management and Staff of the Office of the Head of Service heartily congratulate His Excellency, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade,the Digital Governor of Cross River State as he marks 6 years in office.

Cross River State under your leadership has experienced tremendous developmental strides inspite of the huge financial challenges.

The multi-sectoral development across the length and breadth of the State with the attendant direct bearing on the lives of the people is a clear testimony.

We particularly appreciate your unprecedented commitment to regular salary payment and the determined efforts made at different levels of governance to actualise the dreams as well as improve the lives of Cross Riverians.

We proudly identify with these achievements and wish you long life, good health as you continue in this great work.

Signed

Geraldine Akpet-Ekanem (Mrs.)
Head of Service

GOODWILL MESSAGE

The Management and Staff of the Office of the Head of Service heartily congratulate His Excellency, Senator Prof. Ben Ayade,the Digital Governor of Cross River State as he marks 6 years in office.

Cross River State under your leadership has experienced tremendous developmental strides inspite of the huge financial challenges.

The multi-sectoral development[sub][/sub] across the length and breadth of the State with the attendant direct bearing on the lives of the people is a clear testimony.

We particularly appreciate your unprecedented commitment to regular salary payment and the determined efforts made at different levels of governance to actualise the dreams as well as improve the lives of Cross Riverians.

We proudly identify with these achievements and wish you long life, good health as you continue in this great work.

Signed

Geraldine Akpet-Ekanem (Mrs.)
Head of Service

Calabar, Friday, May 28, 2021.

Barely a week after the ingenious move of His Excellency Sir Ben Ayade to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), the results are already being felt and experienced in the State's tourism sector with hospitality and tourism stakeholders set to enjoy better Federal Government led partnerships, which had hitherto, evaded the State.

This was made known at the end of a meeting between Nigeria’s tourism boss, Mr Folorunso Coker, Director General, Nigeria Tourism Development Coporation and Mr Utsu John Atsu, Managing Director, Cross River State Tourism Bureau.

Mr Coker used the opportunity to express his delight at His Excellency’s defection from the PDP and warmly welcomed the Governor to the APC. He added that having a colossus like Sir Ben Ayade in the APC will certainly augur well for the ruling party, for Cross Riverians and for the entire country owing to the unrivalled intellectual prowess Sir Ben Ayade brings to the table.

The meeting also deliberated on areas of collaboration to promote Community Based Tourism (CBT) and digital marketing strategies for Cross River State while also revitalizing the tourism pedigree that Cross River State is known for.

The MD, CRS Tourism Bureau and his team were in Abuja for discussions and imminent agreements with the NTDC on plugging destination Cross River into the Federal Government’s Tourism project ‘TourNigeria' which is being championed by NTDC.

The meeting between the two tourism bodies held on Wednesday, 26th May 2021 at the Abuja Head Office of NTDC and the following resolutions were agreed for immediate action:

• Calabar has been chosen as the venue for the forth coming South-South Zonal Tourism Stakeholders Forum scheduled for July, 2021.

• The Tour Nigeria Brand is officially scheduled for activation in Calabar within the same week. Recall that Tour Nigeria is the official brand of NTDC used for promoting domestic tourism development in Nigeria.

• The official activation of Nigerian Flavors: Cross River Edition was agreed, as part of the Tour Nigeria unveiling in Calabar. This event is designed as the biggest food festival to be held in Calabar and will showcase the diverse culture and cuisine of Cross River State and beyond.

• The NTDC via the TourNigeria project is supporting the building of a state-of-the-art food court at the Marina resort which will be launched in July 2021.

• A strategic Digital Marketing training by NTDC in partnership with Facebook and Google is to be held for relevant tourism and hospitality stakeholders across the State. This training is aimed at equipping tourism and hospitality practitioners with trending digital skills in the hospitality and travel trade sectors of the local economy.

• The organization and hosting of Calabar Marathon, an entertainment event meant to boost sports tourism traffic into the State, was also scheduled for July 2021.

Speaking after the agreements were reached, Mr. Coker said "Cross River is going to provide a mega experience in the tourism space with this alliance and the NTDC is delighted to be partnering with Nigeria's topmost destination which houses some of Africa's amazing attractions in Obudu Mountain Resort, Marina Resort, Kwa Falls and Afi Wildlife Resort & Sanctuary”.
He further said that "with the design of the Marina Resort Food Court completed and the BOQ accepted, work is expected to commence immediately on the project”.
The NTDC boss concluded by pledging his full support to the development strategies of President Buhari and Governor Ayade; and declared that Ayade’s expectations will be exceeded as Cross Riverians will shortly begin to see results of Ayade's strategic alliance with the Federal Government.

In his response, the MD CRS Tourism Bureau Mr Utsu John Atsu stated that owing to Governor Ayade's consistent pursuit of agro-based industrial tourism, he has provided a rich structure for enabling the food and beverage industry in Cross River State while aligning with President Buhari’s strong advocacy & support for community-based tourism via local agricultural enterprise.

Utsu thanked the DG. NTDC and his team for the partnership opportunities that were provided and shared with the bureau, through the course of deliberations & final agreements.

The Cross River State Tourism industry is undoubtedly the first receiver of the wave of federal government benefits that will surely follow, under Governor Ayade's new political disposition.

-END-

His Excellency, Sir Ben Ayade, his Associate, Professor Ivara Esu, and members of the State Executive Council, on Wednesday, held a valedictory exco meeting in honor of the former Commissioner for Women Affairs, Late Mrs. Ekama Awara at the Exco's Chambers, Governor's Office in Calabar.

©Ayade Advocate

The Cross River State Transporters Cooperative Association Limited (Apex Body) paid a courtesy visit to the Hon. Commissioner of Ministry of Humanity and Social Welfare - Hon. Blessing Egbara.

The group stated that their purpose of visitation was to appreciate the Ministry for the proper handling of Cooperative matters in the state since the assumption of the Hon commissioner.

They also pledged to synergize with the Ministry in ensuring that Cooperative societies become a major and reliable conduit for the transfers of welfare to the residence of the state.

On her part Hon. Blessing Egbara expressed satisfaction with the Association's monumental strides as Coorporators while also promising them that the Ministry will continue to improve on its service delivery to Crossriverians.

Attendance:
In attendance at the visit were the Hon. Commissioner - Hon. Mrs. Blessing Egbara and the Special Adviser to the Ministry (Legal)- Barr Sylvanus Inyang.

Among the contingent from the Association were
Hon. Julius Kijuo, President; Dr. Moses Agboreyo
Executive Secretary; Mr. Patrick Obache
Board Director; Chief Nkese Effiom, State Treasurer.

By David Peter
©Ayade Advocate

The Executive Governor of Cross River State, His Excellency, Ben Ayade on Monday, approved interactive meetings with the stakeholders in the Government of Cross River State.

A statement signed by his Senior Special Adviser Political, Ntufam Dr. Peter A. Ojie, KSJI, Jp has the under-listed stakeholders and schedule interval as follows:

1. Cross River House of Assembly
Date: Tuesday, May 25, 2021
Venue: Gov't House
Time: 10am

2. Special Advisers
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Venue: Exco Chambers
Time: 1pm

3. Snr. Sp. Asst/Special Assistant
Date: Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Venue Exco Chambers
Time: 3pm

4. Chairmen of LGA/Councillors
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021
Venue: Exco Chambers
Time: 1pm

5. DG's/Chairman of Boards/Members
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021
Venue: Exco Chambers
Time: 3pm

6. Party Executive(States & LGA)
Date: Thursday, May 27, 2021
Venue: Peregrino Hall
Time: 1pm

ENDS

Wife of Deputy Governor flags off the Safe motherhood week activities

The Cross River State Government has stated its commitment to keep mothers safe from conception to delivery. With approximately 3000 Women dying everyday from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth in Nigeria, the government of CRS under the amiable leadership of Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade has continued useful interventions targeted at reducing the rate of Maternal Mortality in the State. The wife of the Deputy Governor Her Excellency Mrs Omotunde Ivara Esu, the Health Commissioner Dr Betta Edu, the DG of the CRSPHCDA Dr Janet Ekpenyong, wife of speaker Hon. Imabong Eteng, the Chairman of Calabar Municipality Hon. Efeffiong Nta and wife Mrs Theresa Eke among other health stakeholders/ partners in the State all took part in the Safe Motherhood sensitization event which will be replicated across the state this week.

The aim of this event was to carryout massive sensitization campaigns on the importance of safe pregnancy and childbirth with skilled birth attendants which will help reduce the high rate of maternal mortality in the State, the wife of the State's deputy Governor, Her Excellency Mrs Omotunde Ivara Esu who commended the numerous achievements of the government of Sen. Prof. Ben Ayade in the health sector called on mothers to make it a habit to always access health facilities during antenatals and childbirth to reduce complications that might lead to sudden death. "Let me use this opportunity to commend this administration for doing very well especially in the industrial and health sector as through the workaholic and result oriented effort of the health commissioner Dr Betta Edu and her team, the State has so far recorded tremendous achievements in this sector. Motherhood as we know is a huge responsibility. “As mothers, we owe it as a duty and a responsibility to give ourselves the greatest care and attention especially during the period of pregnancy. Communities, men and pregnant women must play their part. As a government we'll continue to give in our all to make sure we provide the needed health infrastructures to make this process convenient for all our mothers."

Speaking during the event, the CRS Commissioner for Health Dr Betta Edu reiterated Government’s commitment to give in their all to ensure that Pregnancy remains safe as well as childbirth. "Today is to create awareness and encourage our women to access quality care during pregnancy, childbirth and postnatal services. With this year's theme being; "Improving Demand, Access And Utilization of the Maternal Services In the Context of the Covid-19 Pandemic" From conception to delivery, we will always provide medical care, skilled delivery, HIV PMTCT service, antimalaria, Immunisation, micronutrients, family planning Delivery kits and many other interventions which could help reduce the high rate of death during childbirth.

"The administration of Governor Ben Ayade has made it possible for us to access care even at our doorsteps as there's no Ward in CRS without a functional health facility, our general hospitals are upgraded and running with outstanding equipments/facilities to make childbirth safe, its therefore time we stop patronizing Traditional Birth Attendants (TBAs), religious houses or delivering at home. We must first help ourselves before the government can help us. Register with Ayade Care and access free care. as a State we'll continue to give in our best to keep every mother safe."

Dr Janet Ekpenyong the DG of the CRSPHCDA on her part called on mothers to use the health centers as the roles of TBA is only for referral. We are working with the House of assemble to get the law. If any TBA delivers a child they will be arrested.

The chairman of Calabar South LGA Hon. Nta who played host called on mothers to make use of the government facilities while calling on their husbands to give them the necessary support as childbirth even though a woman's responsibility, the man has so much role to play to help make the process safe and healthy for both the mother and the child.

The representatives of UNFPA, UNICEF, and WHO, all spoke during the event with a commitment to continue to support government in this fight. Highlight of the event was presentation of Delivery kits to pregnant women and Key note address by Prof Marbel Ekott.

By David Peter
- ©Ayade Advocate

It was celebration galore, Friday, as the Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency which was established on the 20th of May 2020, hosted the crème de la crème of commissioners, chairmen of MDA's, security outfits, close associates, and special guests in a bash of honoring the agency first Anniversary which also incorporated the stakeholder's Workshop.

The celebration was also a way to collaborates with other legal forces and security agencies to sustain Ayade's tax exemption policies.

Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency has efficiently and effectively experienced laudable tax immunity operations in the twinkling of one year by Bishop (Dr.) Emmah Gospel Isong, jp.

The Chairman, Cross River State Anti-Tax Agency, however, stands taller than all the following strides, his excellent performance to formulate policies and make laws on taxation is laudable as Cross Riverians enjoys 100% Tax exemption without prejudice to CITA.

1. Encouraged Small & Medium Scale Enterprises by taking the tax burdens off them.

2. Set Up office secretariat, Purchased additional operational vehicles, appoints representatives in all the 18 Local Government Areas of Cross River State.

3. Established the Anti-Tax Brigade, appoints volunteer marshals to undertake enforcement in conjunction with other security outfits.

4. Propelled the Cross River State House of Assembly to review and revive the 2015 Tax exemption of laws that had hitherto been non-implemented.

5. Synergies with the State Judiciary and Ministry of Justice to establish Special Courts to try offenders.

6. Interfaced with other Government Ministries, Departments (MDA's) to harmonize, monitor the implementation of tax exemption policies.

7 . Organised several workshops, engaged in awareness campaigns to sensitize beneficiaries of this policy.

The Chairman along with the Board Members thanked Almighty God for his transcending grace to achieve extensively, similarly, he applauded the State Governor, His Excellency, (Prof.) Ben Ayade for his lofty endorses and allegiance to succeed.

The Catholic Bishop of Ogoja Diocese, Bishop Donatus Akpan, over the weekend met with the Muslim community to celebrate Eid-el-Fitr with them, saying both Islam and Christianity are one religion before God.

The Bishop who was received by the Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Muslim Affairs, Alh Tanimu Hassan, and the chief of Imam of Ogoja, haps on peaceful country-existence among the believers of the two faith.

According to the Bishop, Muslims and Christians are serving the same God, even as he charged leaders of faith to always embrace peaceful co-existence as all humans are creation God.

The priest pledged to maintain a closed cordial relationship with the Muslims, explaining that the 2021 Eid-el-Fitr Celebration coincided with the centenary celebration of the catholic diocese of Ogoja.

On their part, the Special Adviser to the Governor on Muslim Affairs, Alhaji Tanimu Hassan, and the Chief Imam of Ogoja, Mallam Adamu Danjuma commended the Bishop for his love for the Muslim faith in Ogoja and another part of Northern Cross River.

They said his visit will go a long way to cement the existing relationship the Ummah have enjoined from the Christians in the area.

"We will do everything in making sure that we protect peace in Cross River as the most secure state in Nigeria.

"This is because we don't have any other home than this State, some of us were. born here and we grew up here, it is natural that we protect our home, and Cross River State is our home.

"Governor Ben Ayade has even made this clear to us due to the numerous appointment he gave to the Muslims in Cross River State in his government.

The highpoint of the visits was the distribution of gift items to the Muslim neighborhood by the Catholic Bishop of Ogoja Diocese, Donatus Akpan.

Cross River State governor, Sir Ben Ayade, yesterday hinted that the combination of ambience and learning at the Teachers Continuous Training Institute located in Biase Local Government Area is to create an atmostphere that is academic but yet very inspiring and welcoming.

Ayade who spoke while inspecting ongoing furnishing work at the institute commended the speed and quality of equipment so far installed.

"I am really excited about the possibility of having a world class teaching environment in Cross River State because we understand the influence of environment on quality of teaching and quality of learning.

"I am very very impressed with the quality and the speed of furnishing. My hope is that will have the urgency and need to enroll enmasse. We can beam with satisfaction that the Nigerian Teachers Training Institute will now take place here and I am sure that at the fullness of time, the Nigerians will recognize the value of quality education."

The governor stressed that "education is the basis for more societal transformation and that is why Cross River State is being ruled by two professors. And as a government we place emphasis on the quality of teaching and quality of research, hence this school."

Speaking further on the reason for establishing the Institute, Ayade maintained that "the Teachers Continuous Training Institute, the first of its kind, is intended to train teachers and continuously retrain teachers because the quality of students is determined by the quality of teaching and the quality of teaching is a reflection of the quality of the training.

"Traditionally, when teachers are out of the university and get employed as teachers, they have no opportunity for further training, and no continuous training. So the teachers themselves are sometimes not upto date, even with the subjects they teach.

"This is because trends and research keep throwing up new findings, but unfortunately a teacher has no opportunity to update his knowledge on the subject matter, particularly when you are teaching in a village setting and away from the city centre like the capital of the state."

According to the governor, "the institute is therefore, set up specifically to attend to the teaching needs of West Africa, to drive home the message of quality teaching because only through quality teaching that you can have quality learning which also translates to quality outcome."

Ayade said drawing from his background as a teacher, "I studied the limitations of our teaching and I come from a university setting therefore, my inspiration came from my own life. I have been in and around a university environment at very young age, I know its pitfalls and so given the opportunity as a governor, I needed to correct those things that I saw that were wrong because teachers were not comfortable, the teaching environment was not comfortable, teaching was made to be seen as the last resort when every other job failed.

On the curricular that will be run by the institute, the governor disclosed that the plan is “to run a curriculum that is very akin to and related to our GCE, WAEC, and NECO exams across West Africa. If we are preparing students to write physics, we will bring in the best physics teachers across the world but instead of them coming to teach the students, they're coming to teach the teachers so the teachers will gain this knowledge and go back and teach the students in their various schools.

"So, if am teaching you physics and I am a specialist in optics, then I will come and teach optics and I will leave after two months or three months depending on the duration of my contract. But the Professor who is the provost of this institute must have an affiliation across the world to know the best hands to bring in for each speciality to train the teacher who will now go and teach that subject in the secondary school. This means he is returning with advanced knowledge and the latest knowledge in his discipline."

Urging teachers not to despair any longer, the governor said: "I am telling all teachers in Cross River State, in Nigeria and indeed West Africa that today you have been recognized as key persons in the value chain process of creating a better society. Now we have an institute which is not just here to issue a certificate but it is here to train and retrain and continuously train you. Welcome to the era of teachers, Welcome to the era where teachers are now in the driving seat. Teachers have finally been recognized by Cross River State. It is indeed the turn of teachers."

The reason why Governor Ayade made such massive appointments is because of his preference for counter-cyclical approach over pro-cyclical policy, knowing that pursuing a pro-cyclical policy at this time of economic woe is very dangerous, for it could raise macro-economic volatility, depress Investment in real and human capital, hamper growth and harm the poor. It is the aspect of the poor being harmed that disturbed him the most.The distributional consequences of pursuing the pro-cyclical fiscal policy in the time of recession is grave.

Someone does not understand, right? Don't worry, I am going to explain in details so that even the market woman would understand because I have watched with utmost dismay how some people have been displaying some literary skills in struggling to criticize Governor Ayade for his massive appointments.They argue that in the midst of economic downturn and low revenue, what is expected is to trim down the size of government (pro-cyclical) and that majority of the appointments are not useful. Aside the fact that they have chosen to permanently dwell at the infamous corner of cynics, ignorance is a major factor that usually informs such warped argument, which must be cured. As a unique approach in statecraft, this expansion of government by Prof. Ben is way too deep and highly sophisticated to be brushed so glibly at beer palours and market squares.

As earlier discussed, Governor Ayade's model of statecraft is centered on providing practical approach towards solving economic recession, since the beginning of his administration was welcomed by recession. I have already made an exposition on how Ayade's Administration, as the Governor of Cross River State, coincided with the global economic recession of the 2015 which is believed to have been caused by the sharp drop in global oil price.

I have equally explained how this condition in Ayade's Administration has been further compounded by the state's insolvency and massive fiscal gap that come with extremely low revenue. I have, previously, highlighted a loss in consumer confidence as a result of low employment and poverty as the major effect or symptom of recession. This loss in consumers' confidence, in recession period is interpreted as a steep decline in aggregate demand by Economists. We are going to discuss, in details, how Governor Ayade has been able to put these precepts and ideas of solution to Economic Recession to practice.

Usually, in such situation, what is expected is some pro-cyclical policy measures by way of fiscal adjustment. An example of pro-cyclical policy measure in the time of recession is retrenchment: a government that is experiencing serious downturn in revenue is, usually, expected to adopt certain cost containment measures like welfare retrenchment whereby many workers are often laid-off. This, usually, contributes to reduction in government's total spending. Some leaders call it "down-sizing".This is to enable the government contain cost within the range of the resources at its disposal and it usually the poor that suffer the most. I believe those critics who are criticizing the Governor for such massive appointments and expansive government could have even been the first to attack the governor, if he had decideded to retrench.

The second aspect of this pro -cyclical measure is the raise of tax in order to improve on the revenue to enable the Government stay afloat. Usually, the pro-cyclical policy measure, or fiscal adjustment policy is often run by leaders who are conservative. Of course, if there is revenue lack, one is not expected to spend. One is only expected to spend when there are boom. This is known as the pro-Cyclical Policy Measure often used in the conventional business setting. Shortly put, the pro-cyclical fiscal measure presupposes reduction in government spending and increase in tax in the time of "bust" and increase in government spending and and tax-cut in the time of "boom". Pro-cyclical policy supports employment only when there is boom.

We have been using the terms "cyclical, pro-cyclical and counter cyclical fiscal policies" , let us look at what they mean.

Cyclicality of the fiscal policy simply refers to a change in direction of government expenditure and taxes based on economic conditions. These pertain to decisions by policymakers based on the fluctuations in economic growth. There are two types of cyclical fiscal policies - counter-cyclical and pro-cyclical.

Counter-cyclical fiscal policy refers to the steps taken by Government that goes against the economic or business cycle. Thus, in a recession or slowdown, government increases spending and reduces taxes to create a demand that can drive an economic boom. On the other hand, during a boom in the economy, coubter-cyclical fiscal Policy aims at raising taxes and cutting public expenditures to control inflation and debt. This is premised in the believe that expansion of government expenditure cushions the contraction in output by offsetting the decline in consumption and Investment. And also, higher government spending builds confidence in tough times.

Through this policy, a government would be able to show sound fiscal management which, inturn, gives confidence to the private sector that the economy will not fluctuate too much. It helps businessmen overmen risk averson and brings confidence into the economy.

In a pro-cyclical fiscal policy, the government reinforces the business cycle by being expansionary during good times and contractionary during recessions.

The Keynesssian model of counter-cyclical fiscal policy is such that rather excites aggregate demand to scale-up far against supply. This skewed balance was the reason why there was Stagflation in the 1970. The Keynesssian Counter Cyclical approach is centered on the massive deficit spending on infrastructures, not just for the purpose of providing those infrastructures, but to distribute wealth in the hands of the citizens to restore aggregate purchasing confidence. And usually, the project executions are not often done with machines, but with manual labour so that money enters many hands.

The Keynesssian Framework of counter-cyclical policy was first utilized by President Herbert Hoover, the 31st American President from 1929 to 1933 as his policy intervention against the Great Depression whereby there was massive spending that saw many projects in works. Even when Franklin D Roosevelt succeeded Hoover, his New Deal policy was a continuation of Hoover's Expansionary Policy, as Roosevelt tripled government expenditures within a couple of years.

Governor Ayade's method of increase in government spending is in the area of stimulation of employment, through Government Expansion to activate demand, and the setting of profitable Industrial infrastructures and equipments to be handed over to the private sector, simply known as Government Mediated Private Sector to accelerate Supply.

Ayade's Expansion of government comes with 38 ministries, manned by 38 Commissioners and 6 Thousand other appointments. With these massive appointments, government spending has been increased for the past six years and evenly distributed in the hands of indigens who were unemployed. These monies have been trickling down with far reaching economic benefits of exciting the purchasing power which, inturn, has restored businesses confidence. It is called the counter cyclical model.

Researched by Eval Asikong,
SSA, Research and Strategic Planning.

Cross River State Governor, Professor Ben Ayade has congratulated Muslim faithful on the successful completion of the Ramadan fast.
He called on them to remain content and render selfless service to humanity in accordance with the lessons of the Islamic religious obligation.

In an Eid El-Fitr message to the Muslim Ummah signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Christian Ita, the governor averred that "Eid al- Fitr offers an excellent opportunity for Muslims to break barriers and reach out to fellow Nigerians, heal wounds and work toward a united, peaceful Nigeria especially at this time our country is facing myriad of economic and security challenges.”

Ayade further stated that “having been refreshed by the teachings of the Prophet Mohammed which are essentially love, self denial and good conduct in our daily life, and spiritually rejuvenated by the Ramadan fast, I enjoin muslim Ummah and indeed all Nigerians to employ a selfless approach in our dealings irrespective of religious, political or tribal affiliations and remain content with what we have.

“It is in the spirit of these that we all must reflect on the impact of our actions as individuals and the collective on this world while we journey through it to ensure that our supplications to the creator are answered.”
Governor Ayade prayed Allah’s eternal blessings on his faithful and their loved ones.

“As you celebrate this years Eid El-Fitr and offer Eidi to your loved ones, may Allah who waters his creation, sprinkle his wondrous blessings over you and your loved ones as well as light up your way to lead you to eternal happiness, success and peace", the governor said.
While wishing Muslims a peaceful and wonderful celebration, he appeal to them to observe all COVID-19 protocols as they visit fun spots.

The governor also reminded them that the 10pm- 6am curfew imposed on the state for security reasons is still very much in place.