By Nsan Ndoma-Neji, Calabar
The gubernatorial candidate of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Cross River State,
Mr. Effiong Nyong, on Friday promised to turned around the fortunes of the state within an interval of two years in office, if allowed to lead as governor.
Nying also promised to create additional 22 Local Council Development Areas, LCDAs, to pave way for speedy development of the rural areas and create more urban cities in the state.
Nyong made the pleadge during an interactive session with ADC and Action Alliances, AA, stakeholders at the Pyramid Hotel, Calabar to strategize on how to probably collapse their structures into the Labour Party ahead of the governorship election.
The former General Manager of Sparkling FM Radio station, Calabar, stated that he has a social contract with the people where he has to make things work within two years and if it doesn’t work, he will resign.
The journalist-turned-politician said, “We can turn Cross River State around in two years and I will resign within two years if things don’t work.
“The government of Cross River State says there is no money, but the simple truth is that they do not know how.
“The easiest way to deal with the issue of Cross River State is to open it up and this will be done by creating 22 LCDAs.
“When you do that, it means that where you have Odukpani today, and Akamkpa will be divided into a minimum of four LCDAs.
“What will happen is that you will create jobs, the contractors will make money and the money that comes from the federal will be shared into fourty places and each one will use it to develop their areas.
“When you do the layout for these areas, they will have a school, health centre, prototype houses that should be developed and individuals that come from there will go home.
“In two years, people will not crowd around Calabar anymore, because with local government autonomy, there is nothing you will be coming to do in Calabar.
“By the time these places are developed, you will discover that there will be security, jobs for the youths, jobs for the contractors and people will have reason to stay in their home towns.”
The ADC governorship candidate cited instances where we had Abi Transport Service in Abi, called Abi Trans, which trasversed the whole country and also Anantigha Warriors Football Club in Calabar South, which played up to the semi final of the Challenge Cup, stressing that that only happened because the local government were autonomous, but this was however shut down.
In the area of employment for young people, the ADC candidate maintained that the already existing 37 industries at the Calabar Free Trade Zone are working at less than 15 per cent capacity, but have the potential to employ over 2,000 workers each.
He attributed this development to the malfunctioning of the power turbines at the complex and promised to work with them to ensure the three power turbines are functioning and over 74,000 jobs will be created here.
Nyong stated that the jobs are there, but the initiative is not there because the people running the state don’t have capacity , describing the maritime policy in the state as the worst in the world, adding that this can be changed if the needful is done.
For education to have a boost, Nyong stressed that he would restructure the educational system and get the sector aligned with sports development to keep the youths busy, adding that by so doing, a lot of societal ills would have been taken care off; because youths energy would be channeled to sports with prizes attached to laurels.
He blamed present administiion for it’s failure to make the sports stadium work, stressing that it’s either the idea or will power that is lacking.
He said that the state library would be rehabilitated to increase the level of readership in the state, stressing that what we have today as a state library is nothing to write home about, promising to restructure the civil service to ensure that career civil servants are brought back and end the culture of special advisers in the state.
According to him, the ‘SA’ syndrome constitutes serious security problem and his administration will explore ways of engaging them.
