The Special Adviser (SA) to Governor of Cross River State, Senator (Prince) Bassey Edet Otu of All Progressives Congress (APC), Barrister Ekpenyong Akiba, has said that his principal is showing great commitment toward the enhancement and overhauling of the transport system in Cross State.
Akiba, an astute lawyer and grassroots politician contributing greatly to the actualization of the People-First agenda of the Otu-led administration, made the remarks while speaking on the widely hailed Free Easter Transport Service launched by the governor to ease financial burden for residents of Cross River State amidst rising cost of living in the country.
According to the SA General Duties, “The governor is doing everything possible to enhance the transportation system and improve the quality of transport services in Cross River. He is not oblivious of the significant role transportation plays in economic growth and development. He is aware that transportation is crucial to every aspect of human life and economic activities. It is for this reason that our amiable governor is working hard to boost the transport system, embarking on the construction and rehabilitation of roads everywhere in the state, acquiring additional aircrafts and making efforts to put in a better and improved railway system in the state.”
The legal pundit who is the Chairman of the Committee coordinating the Free Easter Transport Service, that commenced few days to Easter and meant for about two weeks, said that Cross Riverians are happy and pleased with the governor for coming up with the idea of free transport service at festive seasons which started last December during the Christmas period.
“Cross Riverian are delighted to have a man of Prince Bassey Otu’s type at the helm of affairs of Cross River State. They are very much satisfied with Prince Otu’s leadership style and governance approach which is people-centred in line with his People-First mantra. Governor has left no stone unturned to ensure the fulfilment of his campaign promises to the wonderful and great people of Cross River. The Free Transport Service scheme he introduced last December to help reduce the effect of the hardship in the country during festive periods is a clear testament of how passionate the governor is about caring for the plight of Cross Riverians who graciously elected him as their governor,” Akiba stated.
He further said that even the opposition members in the state were among the numerous Cross Riverians applauding Governor Otu for the good works he has been doing since the assumption of office on May 29, 2023 to build a prosperous Cross River and make life better for the people.
The SA General Duties gave an instance of a member of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) who had called in a radio programme he was hosted as a guest to say that he was happy with how the state was being governed by Governor Otu and even went ahead to openly endorsed him for a second term in office.
He revealed that 60 buses were provided to ply all the routes in the metropolis from 7am to 6pm daily, and others to run from Calabar to different parts of the state were also made available at no cost to Cross Riverians.
According to him, a free boat transportation service was equally provided as part of the Free Easter Transport Scheme.