We have spent over N10bn on Obudu Ranch Airport — Gov Otu

Cross River State governor, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, in this interview, speaks on the several developments in the state including the progress on the ongoing development of the Obudu cattle Ranch Airport, Bakassi Deep Sea port amongst others. Excerpts!

hen you assumed office, you had promised to complete the Obudu Cargo airport, started by your predecessor, in six months, what is happening with the Airport?

The Obudu Ranch Resort is one of the most popular places in Cross River State. Its serene ambience has severally been compared to what obtains in Europe, hence its reference as the ‘Switzerland of Nigeria. The establishment of a cargo airport by the last administration will put the ranch in the eyes of the world.

So far, we have spent well over 8-10 billion naira in terms of investments on the airport. We were almost done when it was discovered that there was water sewage when the inspectors came. We had to get to the root of the water, even though it was not easy, being an airport being built on a rocky surface. They were, however, able to get to the root of it and the technical people have come up with a new drawing.

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We are following the corrections suggested. We believe that by the time they come again, the issue would have been resolved. All other things have been put in place. It is just to pass the technical examination and an aircraft can actually come with a number of people and land safely at Obudu Airport.

For the ranch, it is now looking better but not the standard we expect. The challenge, basically, has to do with the airport and the road. We are looking to sort these out as soon as we can. We have some of the biggest hospitality institutions who would be coming on board. The Presidency is also interested in the ranch. We have gotten some funds to ensure uninterrupted electricity. That is one place that all Nigerians would want to come for their holidays, weddings and honeymoon.

There is also a high expectation on the $3.5bn Bakassi Deep Seaport project with funding secured from the African Export-Import Bank, where are we on the project?

High-powered projects like the Bakassi deep seaport take time to get it on stream. My predecessor had a deep vision in initiating the project and Cross Riverians cannot thank him enough for conceiving the idea and getting the necessary regulatory framework in place, like the Outline Business Case (OBC), among others. Upon my assumption of office, I made a commitment, an unwavering commitment at that, to see to the realisation of the project. The actualisation of the project will be based on public private partnership (PPP). This is one project that is capable of bolstering the state’s economic prosperity.

On the basis of this, it will be recalled that in September this year, critical stakeholders came together to sign and commit themselves to support the actualisation of the project.

Among the prominent stakeholders who pledged their dedication to the project were representatives from Africa Export Import Bank (Afrexim), Arise Integrated Industrial Platforms (ARISE IIP), Nigeria Port Authority (NPA), the Nigerian Navy, the Nigerian Customs, the Nigerian Shippers Council (NSC), the Director General of the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission (ICRC), the Federal Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy, and leaders of the local community. For me, the realisation of this project remains a paramount goal of my administration. Work is currently ongoing at the site and we are doing our best to ensure that by the time full activities resume, we would have the capacity to keep the project going.

What has been your experience with infrastructural development in the state?

When we came in as a government, we promised the people that we would regain all our assets. We also promised to visit all abandoned projects. However, we discovered that the economy was the worst hit because of dilapidated infrastructure, particularly roads.

Refusing to be deterred, or give excuses, we decided to take the bull by the horns, in spite of the odds. So, infrastructure has been a focus for us and, to some extent, we have tried to make sure we fix all the loopholes in that corner.

Specifically on roads, we have done quite a number in the state capital with a focus now in the Central Senatorial District covering Yakurr and Ikom, as well as in the Northern Senatorial District also covering Ogoja and Yala. Our concentration majorly has been to open up the major roads that would lead to where we have agricultural produce, and where there are major commercial activities.

What about the area of industries?

We inherited industries built by the immediate past administration. We are reviewing the statuses and concessionaire agreements. We know that there were some hiccups, most of them financial. We have tried to bridge the finances by ensuring that we are good in terms of venture capital to support some of the concessionaires, especially where it was discovered that some were not strong enough. Within the shortest possible time, we have tried to put the necessary structure in place. If we do not see a change, we might have to get people or corporate entities who have the capacity to run these concerns.

One of the industries we were sure not to allow any hiccups to stall its operations was the Calabar Pharmaceutical Company (Calapharm). We have brought some experts in the pharmaceutical industry to take a second look at the set up. We are optimistic that once they get all their certifications from the different regulatory agencies, they will begin to roll out.

What have been your interventions in the agric sector?

We recognise the fact that the state has a comparative advantage in agriculture, including but not limited to food and cash crops, aquaculture, poultry and animal husbandry. So, it is only proper that the sector receives adequate attention. What we are doing in agriculture is massive; very massive. We are already harvesting our rice. We are also into cocoa and cassava, for which the federal government is willing to partner with us. We are looking to populate all the agro-value chains. We have what it takes. We have restructured the sector for maximum outflow of benefits. We have done a number of soil inspections and investigations, and have gotten digital reports. With what we have done, you can sit anywhere and be informed about the chemical content needed for soils. We have had meetings with a series of partners who are coming in soon. We have got schemes and are sending out people for training. We have over 200 Cross Riverians sent out for training and as they come back, we will fix them up. So in terms of agriculture, we are not joking at all. We are addressing our food security challenge proactively. The vision we have is to feed Nigeria, not just Cross River State. We are beginning to see prices of things come down. We are very passionate about agriculture and we would deliver.”

What about the civil service, what have you done for workers in the state?

As a government, we recognise that the civil service is the engine that moves the government of any administration. It is unfortunate that the civil service has suffered a lot of setbacks both in terms of retirement and a lot more. But in this administration, we have a focus. That is why we keyed into the 70, 000 minimum wage, despite the burdens we are carrying at the moment. We have placed a lot of priority on the civil service. We are introducing training and other things to make sure that we have top class civil servants that are able to deliver on their mandate. Once we put that in place, you would also see the change. Even before the nationally agreed minimum wage, we had raised the minimum wage almost by double. We have been giving allowances. Promotions were not done in many years, we did it, paid arrears; outstanding gratuities are being paid in phases to boost their morale.

How will you react to the ranking of the state as the 5th on Fiscal Performance Index by Budgit?

It was not by magic. It was by deliberate dint of hard work and fiscal responsibility on the part of my administration. We have been working very hard to make sure that we tidy up our financial records and make sure that we are clean. It was just a few issues that put us at number five. But we have shown great accountability and responsibility. We are also doing quite well in terms of our Internally Generated Revenue (IGR). We are almost done with automating our tax system, everything. Even with the few that are remaining, we have straightened out the financial system and I know that by next year we would be better positioned.