Indeed, water provision in Cross River has become a case study in the country and many state governments have continued to visit Cross River State to understudy its example. To be sure, the states that have approached ADB for similar loans are first referred to Cross River State.
The secret of the Cross River success lies in the political will and judicious application of resources officials of the Cross River Water Board Ltd are wont to tell you.
During a recent tour of government projects across the state, it was clear that Governor Imoke is prioritising safe water provision as part of efforts to protect citizens from exposure to killer diseases. If successive governments stick to the water programme, water would go round the state before long.
Through this tour, it was revealed that 86 communities in the state have been provided with water valued at N12.5 billion. This is strictly by the Imoke government. These communities cut across the length and breadth of the state. More are billed to benefit from the next phase of the project according to the government officials who guided journalists during the tour.
A breakdown of these communities shows that 16 are benefiting in Yala, 20 in Obubra, 14 in Itigidi (Abi) phase II, 12 in Obubra, 13 in Ogoja, 9 in Ikom, 2 in Ikom phase 2 and one in Itigidi phase I. The second phase will focus on those local government areas that are yet to benefit from the water provision programme of the government.
No doubt, these projects are capital intensive. The lean resources of the state government cannot comfortably finance these projects and others. Thus, government sought the assistance First Bank of Nigeria Plc to finance the Ikom Phase one and Itigidi Emergency Rehabilitation at the cost of N900 million and the development of water production and reticulation systems for Ikom and Itigidi phase one at N5.4 billion.
The World Bank was responsible for the water projects in Obudu and Ikom phase 2 at the cost of $15.3 million (N2.5 billion) while the Ikom phase 2 gulped $23.4 million (N3.7 billion). Companies with many years of experience in water installation and distribution are the contractors handling the projects. The expatriates among them work with their Nigerian counterparts.
During the tour of these projects, an engineer and a member of staff of the Cross River State Water Board Ltd, Godwin Akwagiobe explained that most of them were ready and serving the water needs of thousands of people in the benefiting communities while others that were ongoing would be ready soon.
At Ogoja, the waterworks there according to Mr. Akwagiobe was renovated in 2011/12. It serves a population of 25,000. Evaluation for the second phase is ongoing. The Ogoja water scheme produces 3000 cubic water daily. When the second phase is ready, more residents would benefit and their water problem checked. Work is at advanced stage on the Obudu water scheme.
Akwagiobe said most of these communities have been without water for years but with this intervention by government their suffering has become a thing of the past. "Before now the people were drinking unsafe water from ponds, streams, lakes and wells," he said.
He urged the communities to maintain and protect the various water projects in their domains as the state government which provided them has spent so much in order to alleviate their water problems.
Traditional rulers were advised to monitor these projects by ensuring that they are not misused or vandalised as government may not effect repairs on any that is damaged.
Already some communities have taken delivery of the completed projects in their localities. Such communities are found in Abi, Ikom, Ogoja and Obudu in Cross River central and north senatorial districts pending formal inauguration by the governor or his representative.
In each community with water project visited, excitement was on the faces of the natives. They literarily rolled out the drums in celebration. At Itigidi, a man, John Eja said: “We are delighted that our children will no longer die as a result of waterborne diseases. The time spent travelling to fetch water that is not safe can be used for something profitable by our children and wives. This is a policy that has direct bearing on the lives of the people and it should be commended by everyone. This is a wonderful project for us. For years we have stayed without water and our people fetched from well, river or contaminated streams. We thank Governor Imoke for this gesture because this will help us a lot as water was our main problem. We pray that God bless him for us.”
It was commendation galore too in other communities visited. Clearly, the revamp of three public utilities undertaken by the Imoke administration with their impact felt include water, rural access roads and rural electrification.
remsonik: Op what work has imoke done Pls take a sit joor, can his works be compared to donald duke. Donald duke restored calabar's glory nigeria. Most of the roads,the waterworks and the songhai farm were started by donald duke!!!
and all the roads I posted were built by Imokes administration.
remsonik: Op what work has imoke done Pls take a sit joor, can his works be compared to donald duke. Donald duke restored calabar's glory nigeria. Most of the roads,the waterworks and the songhai farm were started by donald duke!!!
look at an article on land reform in the state by thomsonreuters
Only a few short years ago, the Nigerian state of Cross River, home to more than 3 million people, was in the grips of land anarchy. An antiquated land management system relied on paper records and a manual process that was cumbersome, time-consuming and filled with error. The entire system was vulnerable to theft and corruption and overall was in a state of disarray.
In order to encourage development, bolster the trust of its citizenry and lay a solid economic foundation, the region increased its focus on land reform by creating the Cross River Geographical Information Agency (CRGIA) in 2009, launching a new era in land administration.
By employing Thomson Reuters Registry and Cadastre solutions, the CRGIA was able to bring structure to land management in Cross River and make disarray and chaos a thing of the past. Collaborating with Teqbridge as implementation partners, we were able to help the CRGIA with on-the-job training and consulting to provide expertise to an agency being built from the ground up.
The land information modernization effort has now enabled the local government to collect and index land records. It included the merging of land parcel data with other geographic information into a single fully searchable digital map on the extent and area of ownership, creating a single access point to land information and improving sharing of information.
"Cross River state has proven to be an early leader in Nigeria by securing the base land ownership information critical to laying a solid social and economic foundation for sustained development and poverty reduction," said Tom Walsh, managing director of the government division within Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting, as he presented a special achievement award to the governor of Cross River. "We are proud to have played a role in supporting these efforts."
remsonik: Op what work has imoke done Pls take a sit joor, can his works be compared to donald duke. Donald duke restored calabar's glory nigeria. Most of the roads,the waterworks and the songhai farm were started by donald duke!!!
Donald duke started the water project but Imoke has built on it and expanded it to many other communities in the state.
The Songhai farms has also gotten great support by the present government which has allowed them to increase their investment in the state.
and yes his work can be compared to donald duke. In fact in some cases it can be said he has had a greater impact than Donald duke. After all one of donald dukes criticisms was his neglect of the rural areas of the state. Liyel Imoke has done a great job of bringing development to the rural areas of the state by building roads and streets in various communities and expanding the reach of the cross river water board.
Look at the land reform Imoke ahs done in the state. Look at the cross river smartcity initiative. Look at the work he has done in conserving the forests in the states. In fact his work in conserving forests in the state has already got him respect from international organisations.
The leadership of Senator Liyel Imoke, Governor of Cross River State in Nigeria – coupled with dynamic collaboration between government agencies, led by the Cross River State Forestry Commission (CRSFC), and civil society organizations in the Cross River State, in particular, and the country at large shows how political will and conscientious governance can provide social and environmental benefits, improving land tenure, community participation and biodiversity conservation. Cross River State is home to 50 percent of Nigeria’s forests. It is a biodiversity hub – as described by CRSFC chairman Odigha Odigha -- with 75 percent of the country’s endangered tree species and 22 species of primates. Rural communities depend on their food, medicine and livelihood from the forests. Cross River State, however, was experiencing deforestation at an annual rate of 2.2 percent. In response, Imoke set in place a two-year logging ban in 2009, which had since been extended for another two years, and created an Anti-deforestation Task Force in 2011 to halt further forest loss. CRSFC, whose members include a Chairman with executive powers, four commissioners (with various portfolios), and a Permanent Secretary, spearheaded a tree-planting campaign that aims to grow five million trees by 2015, established a mangrove reserve, and has pushed for the inclusion of mangroves as “forests” in the climate change negotiations on REDD-plus, a move boosted by the fact that Nigeria has the third largest mangrove area in the world, according to FAO. In 2010, Imoke signed the Forestry Commission Law, authorizing the Commission to regulate government projects that may impact forest resources and to coordinate with national and international bodies in protecting wildlife. It also recognizes community bylaws developed and enforced by forest management committees (FMCs), formed by communities or villages to oversee the responsible harvest and sale of timber products.
The commission has to date certified 19 FMCs for 75 forest communities in Cross River State. Imoke also oversaw the modernization of the land management system and introduced the Cross River Geographical Information Agency (CRGIA) in 2009 which, with the help of Thomson Reuters and Teqbridge Limited, has facilitated more efficient public access to geographical and land data. A bill formally establishing the CRGIA was signed into law by Imoke in 2012. The new system strengthens land tenure by streamlining processes to secure and revalidate Certificates of Occupancy (C-of-Os) - in which local government authorities grant land use rights - by updating data on land ownership and cadastral information. A study titled “Streamlining Land Administration and Governance In Cross River State, Nigeria” (Nigel, Chiemeka, Bassey Ika) noted positive feedback on the CRGIA. “Both the applicants and customers trust the transparency of the system and largely depend on the information coming out of it,” wrote the authors.
plus here is a video about some of the things going on in the state
ujoinme: OP please ignore these APC troll ^^^ and show us the good work of Imoke. APC are big on propaganda and lean on substance.
I have been ignoring him.
The sad part about Nigerians like him is that they think that building fancy suspension bridges and massive stadiums or constructing roads to only toll them is some kind of achievement. That is why alot of our leaders are able to deceive the masses. They build fancy projects that dont touch the lives of the poor and the ignorant like him start to sing their praises. Its funny that he is making fun of the rural road project, agricultural projects and the water project in the state. These are projcets that will improve the standards of living for the common man in the state.
here is a documentary about all the projects in the state
sidenote: Take the land reform act by Liyel Imoke. People really have no idea how great it is. The fact that almost all parcels of land have been registered in Cross river state and have been digitized and stored in online databases is nothing short of amazing. What this means is that if you own land in the state, no one can come and lay claim to it. Apart from that such things like community land disputes will be curtailed. Also people who own land now have the ability to use it as collateral if they are looking for loans e.t.c
By Eyo Charles Calabar — The partnership between the Cross River State government and a Singaporean firm, Wilmar International Limited was inaugurated recently. The firm will invest in oil palm plantations, among them the Calaro Palm Estate; the establishment of training school, refinery and transforming the agricultural sector in the state. Governor Liyel Imoke spoke to some journalists in the state on the importance of the partnership which would make the state a foremost agrarian economy and exporter of palm oil. Excerpts:
What is behind your administration's launching of this ambitious agricultural partnership?
It is because we are hugely aware of the immense importance of agricultural investment especially such as the one our administration is partnering in with a Singaporean agricultural firm, Wilmar International Limited. It is such a massive agricultural project for which the state has given out 50,000 hectares of land in Akamkpa Local Government Area. It will not only transform the economies of the participating communities but will also ultimately enhance production of oil palm in Cross River State, thus making the state the largest producer of oil palm in the country.
How do you see the country's agric sector?
I would say that the agricultural sector in our country has been much maligned over the years; plagued by series of challenges related to enhancing the capacities of farmers and even the critical supply chain agents needed for transportation and distribution.
What is your government doing to change that?
In recognition of the need to refocus the sector in the state and to increase productivity, we shifted our attention to identifying and attracting meaningful and constructive investments to the sector. We in Cross River believe that this approach is critical to the realization of our strategy as a top agrarian economy in the country, as well as ensuring the continued viability and sustainability of both government and private estate in the state. Our intention is to create a cluster for agricultural productivity unmatched by any other state in Nigeria.
How much impact do you think your partnership with this firm will create?
The partnership between the state and the Singaporean firm is the first major result of this strategic realignment of our agricultural industry. It is therefore unique and rooted in our conviction that the most effective direction for development of agriculture in Nigeria and consequent broad-based economic growth and job creation is through active private sector partnership and participation in commercial agriculture.
Why is palm nut, which used to be one of our country's prime products in the 1960s, your major agricultural focus in the state?
In recent years, we are witnesses to the significant increase in the global demand for oil palm. This commodity has a myriad of uses and applications for both domestic and industrial consumption and it accounts for a substantial proportion of the country's agricultural production thus leading the charge in the growth of agricultural development in Nigeria. Nevertheless, Nigeria far from being a major player on the global scale is now a net importer of oil palm. We now struggle to meet our domestic demand. Indonesia and Malaysia which are world largest producers of oil palm today attribute their success to a coherent and consistent policy on agriculture development and more importantly, the ability of successive governments to sustain investment in the sector. That is why it is important that the federal government partners with states in this regard.
Why did your government go for Wilmar?
They are the largest producers and distributors of oil palm products in Asia. Their investment in the state through the acquisition of plantations and green field is a major step to consolidating their presence on the continent of Africa. I should inform you that they are also committed to building a refinery in Cross River State within the short term, as soon as the Calaro plantation starts to yield. They are also entering into a joint venture agreement with PZ Cussons.
Which other ways are you going to exploit their presence to the benefit of small farmers in the state?
In an attempt to exploit their presence in the state and to help farmers foster a long-term relationship with the firm, we have established an outdoor scheme to ensure that the smallholder farmers have a ready market for their produce. This scheme will also guarantee that the economic benefits from this partnership accrue directly to the host communities and individual participants, thus ensuring the long term sustainability of the relationship.
To ensure the success of this partnership, how is the federal government supporting it, especially in area of credit facility?
It is our hope that the Federal Ministry of Agriculture will help facilitate the provision of affordable credit facilities and of course critical production inputs as we partner with Wilmar to ensure the success of this scheme. This is important for many reasons. One of which is the repositioning of agriculture as a viable career choice amongst our rural population and particularly amongst the youth population.
Despite the enormous potentials of the industry to create jobs and generate wealth, most young people and rural dwellers no longer see the economic viability in participating in agricultural activity. To redress this anomaly, there is need to improve access to financial credit and critical input to help expand the production of existing farmers and encourage entry into the industry. In this respect, agriculture will constitute a catalyst for the rapid development of our rural community and indeed the state in general. Let me stress that all of these developments cannot occur in isolation.
This project is quite enormous. What direct benefits would the people enjoy especially in terms of addressing unemployment?
This project when fully operational will create 10,000 jobs that do not exist now. With time, from our calculations, we expect that we could create from this project up to 20,000 jobs. This figure will strike a chord in the Head of Service because the total number of civil servants employed in this state is 20,000. And now, just one company is about to create 20,000 jobs in the state. Let me re-emphasize that we are committed to this partnership for obvious reasons. As part of the partnership, they have already established a training school where Nigerians are now being trained on all aspects of palm oil business. This plantation will be operated and supervised by Nigerians. I have been assured that there would be only two expatriates; the rest of the staff would be Nigerians.
What more do you hope this partnership will achieve?
We expect not just development of the agricultural sector and creation of wealth but we also expect the transfer of technology; new skills in agricultural processing; new opportunities for small businesses to grow.
I must add too, that the launch of this agricultural partnership marks the dawn of a new beginning in the realization of our dream to become and remain the top agrarian economy in Nigeria. Behind the symbolism of this event lies the reality of the enormous positive impact it will have on our whole economy.
Next is the cross rievr state Electronic Land registery
This is part of the cross rievr state land reform act.
What these means now is that every owner of land has their name registered in the database. So now no one can come and steal your land or claim ownership over your property. It will help put an end to all the communal violence in the state.
Here is the website were you can register your land.
Land reform in Nigeria restores trust and transparency Enabling governments around the world to build a more solid social and economic foundation by ensuring land rights for all 20 JAN 2014
A state of disarray
Only a few short years ago, the Nigerian state of Cross River, home to more than 3 million people, was in the grips of land anarchy. An antiquated land management system relied on paper records and a manual process that was cumbersome, time-consuming and filled with error. The entire system was vulnerable to theft and corruption and overall was in a state of disarray.
In order to encourage development, bolster the trust of its citizenry and lay a solid economic foundation, the region increased its focus on land reform by creating the Cross River Geographical Information Agency (CRGIA) in 2009, launching a new era in land administration.
"We are human beings. We don’t live in the air. We live on land. We farm on land. What is more important than securing your land?" said Dr. Clement Oshaka, director general of the Cross River Geographic Information System. A firm foundation grounded
By employing Thomson Reuters Registry and Cadastre solutions, the CRGIA was able to bring structure to land management in Cross River and make disarray and chaos a thing of the past. Collaborating with Teqbridge as implementation partners, we were able to help the CRGIA with on-the-job training and consulting to provide expertise to an agency being built from the ground up.
The land information modernization effort has now enabled the local government to collect and index land records. It included the merging of land parcel data with other geographic information into a single fully searchable digital map on the extent and area of ownership, creating a single access point to land information and improving sharing of information.
"Cross River state has proven to be an early leader in Nigeria by securing the base land ownership information critical to laying a solid social and economic foundation for sustained development and poverty reduction," said Tom Walsh, managing director of the government division within Thomson Reuters Tax & Accounting, as he presented a special achievement award to the governor of Cross River. "We are proud to have played a role in supporting these efforts."
Securing property and overhauling land management administration has powerful effects on the governments that are able to focus on these reforms.
Bassey Oqua, Cross River’s commissioner for special projects, captures the spirit of land reform well.
"It's an exciting time to live in Cross River. It's a new era," says Oqua. "Everything is changing. It's amazing to see something as beautiful as this."
Using a similar collaboration and implementation model, work will soon begin to also execute land reform in Nigeria's Plateau State.
Okuni – Okoroba – Ekang Road Project (Phase I) was designed to open-up and link rural areas in the following LGAs: Ikom, Etung, Biase, Akamkpa. The road will also reduce the time of travel to Calabar. (picture taken 2013)
I posted these pictures before but I shall post them again. The institute has partnered with highbury college in the U.k and with General electric. They will both assist in training students of the institution. Plus General electric and her subsidiaries in cross river state and Nigeria will pick from their pool of graduates for employment in their companies.
Politics / Re: Achievements Of Cross River State Governor Liyel Imoke by davitogreat(m): 5:33am On Nov 10, 2014 
Pls take a sit joor, can his works be compared to donald duke. Donald duke restored calabar's glory nigeria. Most of the roads,the waterworks and the songhai farm were started by donald duke!!!