Independence: Cross River Benefits from FG Interventions — Expert

Mr Alfred Essien, a Cross River-based development practitioner, says the Federal Government has provided substantial support to the state through various intervention projects, though more remains needed.

Essien spoke on Wednesday in Calabar in an interview, assessing how Cross River has fared as Nigeria marks its 66th Independence anniversary.

He listed interventions by the President Bola Tinubu-led administration to include the rehabilitation of the Calabar-Itu Road and the construction of the Cross River segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway. He also cited the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFund) programme and the ICT Hub at the University of Calabar as other major Federal Government interventions in the state.

"We are also aware of the food bank project recently inaugurated in Calabar; this intervention has great potential to support vulnerable residents," he said.

However, Essien said the pace of work on some major infrastructure projects needed to be accelerated for residents to fully benefit. He expressed concern over the prolonged construction timeline for the Calabar-Itu Road, noting that only a limited stretch of the Cross River segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway had been completed so far. He stressed that sustained implementation of these projects is necessary to fully realise their socio-economic benefits.

Also speaking, Mr Castro Ezama, a Calabar-based politician, said Cross River had benefited from several notable Federal Government interventions under the current administration. He described the N25 million business support extended to 18 victims of the recent Calabar Shopping Mall fire incident as a particularly significant gesture from the Tinubu government.

Ezama called for more Federal Government interventions in infrastructure and citizens' welfare, and urged the elite class in Cross River to unite in pursuing the state's development and drawing greater Federal Government attention.

"When we are united, we will gather more strength and voice in making our demands," he said.