APC Governorship aspirant vows to revitalise Cross River Tourism 

A leading All Progressives Congress, APC governorship aspirant, Mr. Ben Akak has promised to revitalise the tourism industry in Cross River State, southern Nigeria.

Ben Akak, the Chairman of Bengies Group of Companies and leading employer of labour within Cross River told newsmen in Calabar, the state capital that he would consolidate on the tourism development strides of Governor Ben Ayade.

Akak, who earlier paid a visit on the governor Professor Ayade to formally inform him of his ambition for the gubernatorial seat in 2023 having publicly declared months ago, said “in 2023, Cross River State needs a governor, who can create jobs. Now Governor Ayade has already done a lot. He did so much because he is a businessman. He came in from the private sector. He understands what it means to go from nothing to everything. 

“I can say that besides government, I am the third highest employer of labour in Cross River State. There is more than 600 staff on the company’s payroll and we have just completed the construction of another factory to employ about the same number of persons. If I can do this as a private person, then Cross River people should expect more,” Akak said.

According to him, “the reason why God situated us in Cross River and gave us the climate, beautiful weather, our cuisines and more is because he wants us to tap from those things around us and use them to better our lives. 

“If I say we are going to depend on tourism alone to drive our economy, it will not be true. However, we are going to reinvigorate the industry and bring in more innovations especially with the use of technology. Nations with enviable tourism industries employ technology to market their tourism, which is not as rich as ours. Like I said, we would do much in that area.

Creating jobs

“I have my economic blueprint for Cross River State and I must tell you the next governor of Cross River State should be somebody, who can create jobs and jobs and jobs. Creativity and ingenuity are inborn, it is not learned. The only people who have the experience to be governor of Cross River State are only four – Clement Ebri, Donald Duke, Liyel Imoke and Governor Ayade. The rest of us will learn on the job. Nobody ever buys experience you learn it,” said the governorship aspirant.

He recalled that through his philanthropic organisation known as the Ben Akak Foundation, he was able to connect with millions of people especially during the 2020 COVID-19 lockdown.

The aspirant solicited the support of APC party members to support his aspiration by voting for him at the gubernatorial primaries billed to hold soon, adding “I love this state and I have the capacity in all ramifications to lead. I am ready to provide a leadership that is more people based, technologically or smart based and above all, give opportunities for young people to be engaged.”

Dominica Nwabufo