Otu, CRHA lawmakers condemn call to remove Bakassi from 744 LGAs; concerned indigenes suggest engagement of stakeholders to address the lingering problem; Saturday, August 15, 2020 LENS news publication

Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Edet Otu and members of the State House of Assembly have come-out to state that Bakassi Local Government Area, like other Local Government was created by law and cannot be delist.

Governor Otu made this remark on Monday during a media briefing at his temporary office, the Dan Archibong Lodge in Calabar.

Also, the Cross River State House of Assembly has strongly condemned a petition sent to President Bola Tinubu by a group identified as Indigenous Displaced People of Bakassi Communities urging the Federal Government to delist Bakassi from the 774 Local Government Areas in the country.

The petition which also copied the Senate President, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senator Representing Cross River State Southern Senatorial District, was criticized by lawmakers for by-passing state authorities and failing to engage the Governor directly.

However, Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu has eased political tension that springs from a supposed face-off with some members of the National Assembly in the state.

Responding to questions bothering on the issue during a media chat in Calabar, Otu stated that he has no problem with any member of the National Assembly from the state and cautioned people against dwelling on social media narratives to form opinions about governance in the state as his primary concern is the development of the state, and that everyone must work to deliver on their mandate, adding that 2027 politics cannot take the place of governance since it is too early to start talking about election that is two year ahead.

In another development, some prominent citizens of Cross River State have called on the Governor, Senator Prince Bassey Otu to call for a public hearing to address agitation by aggrieved Indigenous Displaced People of Bakassi Communities over their call for delisting of Bakassi Local Government Area from 774 Local Government Area in the country.

Prince Erete Ntete and a lady who spoke on condition of anonymity, stated that instead of joining the bandwagon to condemn the move, stakeholder in the struggle should be engaged in a constructive way to solve the problem to showcase his leadership style as the people’s first Governor in accordance with his mantra.

A defining moment of the media parley was the governor’s bold step on longstanding economic paradoxes like the battered TINAPA Business Resort, Bakassi Deep Seaport, Obudu Ranch Resort, Obudu Cargo Airport and Super Highway Projects.

Effort by LENS Reporter to reach Senator Asuquo Ekpenyong Jnr. Member Representing Cross River Southern Senatorial District and Rt. Hon. Joseph Bassey, Member Representing Calabar South, Akpabuyo and Bakassi Federal Constituency in the National Assembly for response on the issues, including the petition before the National Assembly proved abortive at time of filing this report.

We recall a news report published in LENS Newspapers (hard copy) on Saturday, August 15, 2020 that is strongly connected to the agitation titled- Resettlement: Bakassi Chairman Cries to President Buhari for Urgent Intervention. Exerpt: Chairman of Bakassi Local Government Area, Hon. Iyadim Amboni Iyadim has called on President Muhammadu Buhari to hear the voices of the displaced persons of the area with the view to permanently resettle them.

Iyadim made the plea during the inauguration of his executive council members in Ikot Effiom, Bakassi, yesterday.

According to the Chairman, “13 years after Bakassi was ceded to neighbouring Republic of Cameroon, my people still remain psychologically, physically and emotionally traumatised for no fault of ours but occasioned by International Court of Justice (ICJ) conspiracy judgement.”

Iyadim who is the 7th Chairman of the area since its creation by Late Gen. Sani Abacha twenty-three years ago, further stated that all efforts made by the federal government and indeed the state have been like palliative to them, saying there is now need to ensure that the displaced people are permanently resettled.

In his words, “we lose our territory to Cameroon and later loose our littoral status which led to the loss of 76 oil wells and we are now left in want, crying like baby in the midst of abundance.

What have we done wrong that the Federal Government has decided to abandon us? It is high time we drum this neglect and abandonment louder so that they will hear and come to our rescue because the situation here in the camp they created for us is deteriorating by the day.”

He maintained that, “What government have done over the years has been to create camp for us and because they are camps, there are not permanent resettlement efforts.

I am appealing to the father of our nation, our kind hearted and passionate President Muhammadu Buhari to give the Bakassi matter a special place in his development agenda by ensuring that we are permanently settled and compensation adequately paid in perpetuity.”

“We did not leave Bakassi for any reason of our own, it was ceded in the national interest but the hardship occasioned by the ceding is now on us and our innocent children and we need our President to resolve this matter once and for all by ensuring that we are given our pride of place in Nigeria,” he stressed.

Iyadim who over stressed total abandonment, neglect and ill-treatment meted on them following the ceding by relevant government agencies at both state and federal levels, also called for special allocation in form of relief package to the state to enable it tackle the issue.

He further disclosed that the people of Bakassi Local Government Area appreciate Governor Ben Ayade for building a 52 units housing estate at Ifiang Ayong for the displaced people of Bakassi in addition to the 200 units earlier built by Senator Liyel Imoke led administration as well as 40 units built by Ministry of Niger Delta Affairs and hoped that President Muhammadu Buhari will heed their plights and fund proper resettlement programme as soon as possible.

“Our dignity as a people must be restored, and resettlement done holistically while alternative source of livelihood is worked to sustain the surviving families in the various camps,” he added.

The Chairman called on members of his newly inaugurated executive to live above board and see their appointment as a call to serve which shall include sacrifices in ensuring that no stone is left unturned in a concerted effort in delivering good governance to already traumatised people of the area.

According to him,” For me, I do not only intend to be the best Council Chairman in Cross River State, but best nationwide notwithstanding our peculiarities. The people have given us their mandate and we cannot afford to fail them.”

Iyadim who also used the occasion to invite those who felt short-changed in the last political process to join hands with the council and move Bakassi forward for the sake of posterity, stressed that, ” Love for humanity and fear of God shall be our watch word in line with a campaign mantra of service and humanity.”

The Chairman, while congratulating the executive Council members, commended the councilors for showing great sense of responsibility and commitment to the service of their motherland by quickly considering and approving the list of executive council nominees sent to them, adding that,” We are one indivisible family and members of the strongest political party in Africa, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

Let me assure you that this partnership and collaboration shall take us beyond this level.”

By: Archibong Emmanuel

(Snr. Reporter)