Ibeshi vows to revive Cross River signature projects

Former national publicity secretary of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr. Emmanuel Ibeshi, has vowed that Obudu Cattle Ranch and the Tinapa Business Resort, which signifies the key assets in Cross River State, would spring to life if elected governor of the state next year.

He said the two projects, which had been lying comatose in the last three years since former governor Lyel Imoke left office, are at the core of a 12-prong economic, social and entrepreneurial transformation and rescue mission, which constitute the pillars of his action plan as governor of Cross River State.

It was gathered that former governor Donald Duke, Imoke and Ibeshi fashioned the new Cross River State vision, while Duke was picked to begin the state’s revival mission in May 1999, an assignment he discharged and handed over to Imoke in 2007.

Ibeshi, who is set to official announce his governorship ambition, said: “Truth be told, Donald Duke used eight years to put Cross River in the face of the world as the destination of choice for commercial travellers and a haven for tourism-seeking foreigners, as well as, Nigerians.

He revamped the Obudu Cattle Ranch and created the Tinapa project, a N200b annual economy aimed at creating thousands of jobs.

These giant strides had set the pace for the economic and socio-political development of Cross River State as a destination of choice for investors.”

He regretted, however, that the pace of activities in the state in the last three years has reduced those projects to mere historical monuments with nothing to show, noting that the situation has turned the state into a sleepy environment compared to the vibrancy with which it was known from 1999 to 2015.

“Senator Imoke succeeded Duke and added value to the foundation laid by Duke.

Imoke made access to rural communities his first target to enable rural dwellers commute through asphalted roads instead of earth roads that collapsed during heaven rains,” he added.

Ibsehi remarked that the projects of Imoke’s were aimed at tapping into the agricultural potentials of Cross River State using the Shonghai model.

He regretted that all the projects had become comatose, thereby taking Cross River State almost back to pre-1999 era, a situation he promised to redress urgently to resuscitate and re-launch the state back to its position of glory.