A lawmaker representing Cross River State, Honourable Jude Ogbeche has appealed to the Nigerian government to construct the roads linking Cross River, Benue and Ebonyi States.
Honourable Ogbeche, who stated this in a Motion on the need to construct, the Yahe-Wanokom-Wanikade-Benue border road for construction under the Cross River Rural Access and Mobility Project (CR-RAMP), added that the state of the roads has caused untold hardship to citizens of the affected states.
He said that the project was abandoned, while the supposed beneficiaries continue to suffer loss of livelihood and properties as well as increasing poverty due to the deplorable state of the road.
“Cross River State has an enviable history of tourist attraction in Nigeria, yet poor rural roads have resulted in exorbitant vehicle operating costs and unquantifiable travel times; Also note that this is ten years after the Cross River State Government and the African Development Bank (AFDB) jointly awarded the Yahe-Wanokom-Wanikade-Benue border road for construction under the Cross River Rural Access and Mobility Project (CR-RAMP).”
The Lawmaker said that he was concerned that due to its deplorable state, commuting on the road which cuts across North and South Ukelle in Yala Local Government Area of Cross River State is a hellish experience with outrageous fares for the commuters.
He said he was ” Worried that the dilapidated state of the road has caused untold hardship to the people of the surrounding communities as access to markets outside the state, including neighbouring Benue and Ebonyi states, especially in the rainy season, has become impossible because many parts of the road have been cut off by gully erosion,” .
He urged the House to urge the Federal Ministry of Works and Housing to commence reconstruction of the Road Network from Yahe-Wanokom-Wanikade-Wanihem-Benue Border Road and Mbube East I & II to the Boundaries of Obudu in Cross River State and mandate the Committee on Works to ensure compliance.
The Speaker, Hon Femi Gbajabiamila, ruled that the motion passed the second reading.
Gaming Operators
Also a motion on the Need for Gaming Operators to Integrate National Identity Number (NIN) for Verification and Identification of Customers sponsored by Hon. Ibrahim A. Isiaka passed second reading too.
The House noted that the global gaming market is undoubtedly a huge one estimated to generate between $400 to $500 billion yearly and with the consistency of the current trends, by 2022, it is set to be worth around $565 billion with increasing amounts of revenues coming from online gaming in its many forms.
Hon. Ibrahim A. Isiaka, said “Disturbed that when such large amounts of money are exchanged and transacted quickly through relatively anonymous interactions, there is a significant risk that criminals will be tempted to use the situation for money laundering”.
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