The Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade has promised that investors who come and invest in the State’s economy will be guaranteed tax relief. He stated this in Calabar during the opening of a summit on Niger Delta Agricultural and Industrial Development, a presidential initiative to showcase the agricultural and industrial potentials of States in the Niger Delta region.
According to the governor, the major focus of his administration has been on tax relief and he has granted a number of tax reliefs to a considerable number of people in the state particularly low income earners.
“The people who earn less than 80, 000 are granted tax relief because philosophically, an evolving economy that focuses on tax will fail. You can never tax your people to prosperity. Instead of taxing your people, you tax your brain,” he said.
Assuring potential investors of the safety of their investments, Professor Ayade said investors who come to the state should be assured that the state has policies that are hugely beneficial to investors. He advised investors to verify these claim from present investors in the state like Lafarge and GE. Larfarge he said has doubled its capacity from 2.5 million metric tons per annum to 5 million metric tons per annum due to the favorable tax policies of the state government.
According to him, he has invested substantially within and outside the state before he came into politics and so he understands the peculiar needs of investors. These needs, he said,  had been addressed in the course of his administration and his efforts had ensured that Cross River State remains statistically the safest state in the country which is a comparative advantage over other states.
He commended the president for his support for his administration particularly the approval for the construction of the deep sea port and the super highway which will serve as an evacuation corridor for and asked investors to the state to take advantage of these projects. He disclosed that work on the Super Highway is ongoing and the construction work on the Bakassi seaport which will be the deepest seaport in Africa will commence in a fortnight.
Also speaking, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Pastor Usani Usani disclosed that the Buhari administration places a premium on infrastructure and is making serious efforts to address infrastructural deficit in the country.
He disclosed that the ministry had set aside three billion naira for mobilizing the contractor that will handle the Akwa Ibom – Cross River Section of the East West Road.
He however explained that the delay in constructing the road was due to a faulty design which the Buhari administration inherited but has redressed it and the contractor will move to site shortly.

Friday Nwagbara, Calabar