The Governor of Cross Rivers State, Bassey Otu, has commended President Bola Tinubu for the ongoing Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, saying the project would strengthen the socio-economic ties between the South-West and the South-South regions of the country.
According to a statement on Monday by his media aide, Otu spoke on Sunday during the South-South zonal meeting of the All Progressives Congress (APC) held in Calabar.
Otu, who is the Zonal Coordinator of the APC in the South-South, stressed the need for the APC to capture more states in the region to align with the Federal Government for the purpose of attracting more developmental projects.
“It is important to muster more and more states to the ruling APC so that our zone would be politically warm within the APC family.
“It is about endearing the people to the powerful pedigree of the actualisation of our hope through passionate empathy for changing livelihood and leveraging the environment for a better today and greater tomorrow.
“Edo State cannot escape the onslaught with the winning strategy encapsulated in the ‘Renewed Hope’ agenda of President Tinubu-led administration. If we did it in Imo State governorship polls, we can replicate the same in Edo State”, he said.
At the meeting, the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, disclosed that construction work would commence on the South-South section of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway in two weeks.
According to the statement, the Senate President noted that the Federal Government had approved the commencement of construction work on the Calabar axis of the coastal highway, adding that he and the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, would be flagging off the construction.
He also stressed that the return of the Senate Presidency position to the South-South after 45 years would endear the region to the Federal Government to foster rapid development in the region.
“Forty-five years after Senator Joseph Wayas, it has pleased God to have me, a South-Southerner to be Senate President. My being here should be an impetus for the region to further be linked to the centre”, Akpabio said.
According to the statement, he also “revealed that the Federal Government has approved the commencement of work on the Calabar axis for the construction of the six-lane Lagos-Calabar coastal highway, hinting that he and the Minister of Works will be in Calabar to flag off the project in a fortnight”.
Members of the APC present at the meeting included the party’s National Vice Chairman, South-South, Dr Victor Gaidom, Minister of Aviation, Mr Festus Keyamo, former Deputy Senate President, Ovie Omo-Agege, Cross River State Deputy Governor, Dr Peter Odey, former Senate Majority Leader, Senator Ndoma Egba, APC National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, Cross River State APC Chairman, Alphonsus Eba, among others.
