Politics
‘Cargo Airport, A Mere White-Elephant Project’ – Ikem
The former national publicity secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Governor Ben Ayade’s kinsman, Mr. Vena Ikem, has come down hard on the Cross River Governor for purportedly swearing to complete Obudu cargo airport before the end of this year.
He recalled that Ayade had, five years ago, sworn by his life to complete the deep seaport, superhighway, spaghetti flyover and other projects, but that those projects exist only on pages of paper.
Ikem, who comes from Obudu local government area, same as Ayade, in a write-up published in his social media platforms, and titled: ‘Governance By Swearing,’ said “Gov. Ayade, on inspection of the Obudu Airport, was quoted again as swearing that if he doesn’t complete the Airport at Obudu, he should be banished from there.
He wrote: “No Sir, banishing you is not what we want. We want, at least, one completed project to show that we once had a governor from
here.
“Please, how about the Superhighway and
Deep Seaport that you swore to the entire world to complete? Should we forget those henceforth? You have been on record swearing by your mother’s grave, your father’s grave in the past.
“You even volunteered that we should judge your success or failure on those two projects. Are we to add the airport or replace them with it?
And the dual carriage way across the northern senatorial district. It is still less than 30 percent done. What are we to expect? Do we add it to the banishment list or do we assume that it is for the next administration to complete?
“The spaghetti flyover has already become a fish pond elsewhere. The Canadian School at Obudu is still under construction after 3/4 years.
The International Hospital at Obudu too!”
Reminding the governor that time was running out to complete those projects, Ikem, who is a chieftain of the PDP in the state, said:
“Your Excellency, Sir, you have 34 months to the end of your tenure.
The changing stories are making it difficult for us to believe that anything meaningful will come out of these projects, apart from dashed hopes. We are still hoping and praying that you make them meaningful.
“We don’t want you to leave us empty. Your personal wealth, hearing that you also used the occasion of the inspection of the project to announce that you are now the richest man to ever come from Obudu, will not be available to all of us. It is public projects that will remain what we will remember you by.”
Recall that the governor, during the inspection of the said cargo airport, reportedly said “The intention of this airport is to provide cargo support services and export of ornamental and special flowers from the Obudu Cattle Ranch.
“So, for Cross River state, we need to have an airport here to be able to assist us take advantage of the Obudu cattle ranch. Moreso, Obudu Cattle Ranch is a beautiful place of nature, which has been heavily under utilised because of access. So, we are building an airport that can allow us to benefit from the full potentials of the ranch,” he contended.
On the land reportedly donated by the Obudu communities for the project, the governor said, “N500 million has been paid and the work is going on. And as you can see, the communities are celebrating, they are excited that I have come here in person to speak to them and hear their concerns with a view to addressing them.”