Your Excellency our symbol of sweetness and the leader who prioritizes the wishes of his people and places them first I congratulate you on your marking of 100 days in office and for your strides thus far.
There’s an adage that says it is not how fast but how well and that the ending of a thing is better than the beginning thereof but ofcourse you can also predict the end by how a thing starts. Your Excellency thus far you have started well.
You have been intentionally methodical, consciously meticulous and gradual in your efforts to recalibrate the state and you have shown us all that you have a special love and passion to turn the fortune of our state around for good by your actions,frame work and policies.
Permit me at this juncture to state some of the reason why I am congratulating and commending you:
1. You have been thorough in addressing the issues of security by buffering security operations across the state and in red zones. I can remember a weekend I called that you were in the field yourself with security operatives to address a kidnap incident.
2. To understand the pros and cons of the previous government you set up a committee that detailed the gains and challenges of all component of the previous administration in order that you may navigate our state towards the right direction.
3. You have operated an open door and repair policy which has afforded you the opportunity to know and address minute issues related to several key organizations that is relevant to the running of your government.
4.You have boosted our internal revenue generation by over 20 percent by integrating the use of one of the best technological platforms to digitalize the collection process and closing loopholes in the collection process.This means that extra funds is available for developmental projects.
5. In a meeting I attended with NLC,JNC, TUC Cross River State Chapter you have promised and taken initiatives to address the issue of promotion benefits/implementation,arrears, welfare of the state workers and gratuity as well as audit of the state and LGA civil service to remove ghost workers and employ more hands into the service.
6. In order to address the persistent challenges of pension, gratuity and paying outstanding arrears and other workers related benefits and to raise funds for other people oriented projects and initiatives you have sent an executive bill to the state house of assembly for the passage of the contributory pension scheme which will give the state access to 500 billion Naira and the bill is at it last state for passage by the house. Yours truly is the state facilitator to ensure for the successful implementation of the scheme in the state.
7. You have maintained and showed cordiality in your interaction with the legislative and judicial wing of this government by several meetings and gestures of solidarity and support given to them.
8.You have carried out first hand assessment tour of project sites and proposed project sites across the state and particularly spent days in the northern parts of Cross River State and you made the first ever visit of an Executive Governor to Mbube East of Ogoja LGA to interact with our people and see the state of our Mbube East-Otwugwang Road.
9. Major repairs across the highway portion of our roads has commenced while remedial works at other major routes within the metropolis is anticipated.
10.Urban renewal and beautification has been initiated to uplift the state’s clean and green status.
11. Over 3 million palm seedlings have been procured to boost the agricultural status and gains of the state.
12. Approval for the launching of the Cross River State Carbon Credit market that will yield billions of dollars in revenue to our state, improve sustainable livelihood and ensure the sustainable management of our forest resources.This project is what you have asked my office to coordinate.
13. You have provided one of the best incentives for investors to invest in the state by policy pronouncements and the recently held summit to boost investors confidence in investing in the state.These and many more are commendable actions you have taken to indeed place our people first.
Your Excellency,for a state with a huge debt burden,a dwindling state revenue,huge infrastructural deficit and a high population of unemployed youths and a dwindling workforce you have not just talk the talk you are working the work meticulously to ensure for a truly bottom top approach in ensuring a PEOPLE FIRST governance format is entrenched in the 196 wards, 18 LGAs of our state.
I pray for God’s blessings, strength and wisdom on you to keep us soaring above the bottle necks of government and challenges.On behalf of my office as State Coordinator of the African Union Development Agency and New Partnership for Africa’s Development,
Dr Prince Michael Nku Abuo,JP
State Coordinator African Union Development Agency/New Partnership for Africa’s Development (AUDA-NEPAD)
Director General
Cross River State Political Network,CRISPON
