A key aide to the Cross River State Governor, Mr. Edem Darlington has urged media outlets to utilise their platform and actively promote “Think Cross River” Initiative amongst citizens and residents.
Darlington, who is the Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bassey Otu, told reporters in Calabar, the capital city of Cross River State, southern Nigeria that the initiative was launched as part of the government’s campaign to imbue the spirit of patriotism in the people.
According to him, the initiative is aimed at fostering civic pride, inclusivity and support for government’s development programmes and projects as well as enhances unity, peace and stability.
He said; “the ‘Think Cross River’ initiative is a major advocacy tool for of the Cross Shave State Government to promote our rich tourism potential, various business and investment opportunities available in the state taking into cognizance that we a very friendly people and naturally very hospitable.”
Inclusivity and ownership
The Governor’s aide emphasised the crucial role of the media in shaping public opinion and called on journalists to help spread the message of the initiative, which is to encourage the people to take ownership of their communities by protecting social infrastructure and amenities.
He further stated that “inclusion of the media in the state-wide advocacy would contribute immensely to creating awareness on the significance of supporting government’s economic growth programmes geared towards achieving the “Peoples First” agenda.”
“We need the collaboration of the media to galvanize support for the programmes and projects of Governor Bassey Otu. We need the people to understand that they should join hands with the governor, our dearest sweet prince and promote what he is doing. It is a tool to unite Cross River so whether you are from Cross River originally or you are living in the state, it does not matter.
“We believe that by working together in raising awareness, we can inspire the people to imbue and imbibe the culture of nation building rather than destruction of our collective wealth.
“We want to seize this opportunity to commend the people for taking ownership of the reintroduced monthly environmental sanitation exercise and upholding peace throughout the farming season, which has translated to zero level of communal crisis across the state,” he noted.
Government’s accomplishments
The Deputy Chief Press Secretary acknowledged the efforts of the Cross River State government to executive people oriented programmes and projects in the state such as reinvigorating the healthcare delivery system, improving interstate and intrastate transportation through road construction and commencing the payment of gratuities to retirees and encouraging basic and secondary education amongst others.
Darlington said; “we want to use this opportunity to commend the governor for making available N10BN (Ten billion naira) for the payment of gratuity in the first phase. We also applaud him for the ongoing construction of an alternative route to bypass the very turbulent and disturbing Calabar – Itu road.
“Also, worthy of note is the flag off of the construction of a rail project, which will link Calabar to Obudu with stop overs at Ugep, Ikom and Ogoja. All these to ease transportation and enable farmers cover their crops to the market with ease. We felt that the governor deserves accolades for taking such giant strides,” he said.
Darlington added that “the ‘Think Cross River’ initiative was part of the state’s broader vision, which complements the ‘Destination Cross River’ and the ‘Nation’s Paradise’ initiatives embedded in the logo aimed at harnessing the collective efforts of citizens and stakeholders for sustainable development.
Mercy Chukwudiebere
