From: Diana Okon-Effiong, CalabarFormer Senate Leader, Victor Ndoma-Egba has commended Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River for embarking on the construction of a 260-kilometre Superhighway, saying the project would no doubt boost commerce.
Ndoma-Egba, who made the commendation in an interview with journalists in Calabar, also urged relevant authorities in Nigeria to ensure that existing road infrastructure is fit for commuters.
He said that he had no doubt that Ayade would deliver the project as promised at its flag off and should therefore be encouraged to do so.
“My reaction is very simple. The governor has promised again and again and that he will deliver the road. So my attitude is that I want the road look forward to the road. I would benefit from the road, just as any other person would benefit from the road. The only thing we can do now is give him the benefit of the doubt and give him every support to deliver on the road.
“He has staked his political future more or less and that road has become not just a signature project, but a defining project. A project that would define his political future. So he will not take that risk if he did not mean to deliver on it. So we should encourage him.
“My only appeal is that while waiting for the superhighway, at least the one that we have now should be made passable. This is because without good road infrastructure in a state like Cross River that has basically two commodities which are agricultural products and tourism, the economy would be jeopardized.
So I think as much as we anticipate and look forward to the superhighway, that would bring a lot of dividends if delivered, what we have on ground now should also be made passable,” he said.
He also commended the security forces on their efforts to curb insurgency and internal security challenges.
According to him insurgents and their activities will be caged in the long run by agents of the Nigeria state.
He said: “Insurgency does not have its origins in Nigeria. Once upon a time we had the Irish Republican Army, you could not tell where the next bomb would drop in the United Kingdom. You couldn’t tell who was going to be the next target. We had them in Italy, Germany, Spain and you could not tell who the next victims. Insurgency is not a peculiarity in Nigeria.
“It is just that in recent past, it gained global prominence because of the events in the Middle East and the North Africa and Nigeria being that close has been impacted by insurgency. Now, whether we have made any progress I would say yes, we have made substantial progress. If you recall a few months back, Boko Haram were hoisting flags and taking territories and appointing caliphates and so on.
“Today they are no longer acquiring territories, but we have lone wolf incidents where a young man on lady is wired and goes to a soft target and blows themselves up. Insurgency does not end dramatically. It peters off. That has been the experience all over the world. There can be no dramatic end. You cannot say that by so and so date it would end. What is important is whether you are sufficiently degrading them in terms of capacity.
“So if they are being sufficiently degraded and you are not seeing lone wolf attacks, I think that is evidence enough that they are getting more and more desperate. They can only get desperate when they are losing ground.’’
He said that although he had since left the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), he would soon declare for another popular political party in Nigeria.
“`You will hear and you will report it. Well, if speculations generated dust, the real activity would generate a storm,” he said.
admin
