I will reopen Bakassi case to redress injustice, says Otu

New Governor of Cross River State, Bassey Otu, yesterday, took oath of office and promised to revisit the Bakassi case. His promise is contained in his inaugural speech shortly after taking the oath with his Deputy, Peter Odey, at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar.

Otu, who represented South Senatorial District in the Eight Assembly, said with his experience as a legislator, he would provide good governance to the people.

He said his administration would restructure the state’s huge debt stock and strengthen its fiscal pasture. 

“With our People-First agenda, safety, peaceful co-existence and security of lives and properties are major pillars of my administration. For the few, who take pride in criminality, there shall be no hiding place and only two options are on the table: turn a new leaf within our upcoming amnesty window or vacate Cross River State without delay. Our administration shall have zero tolerance for criminality in whatever form or shade.

“We shall expand our footprint on total Healthcare and Education Spending per Capita. We will curb gender-based violence and institutionalise Cross River as the cleanest, greenest and safest in our country,” he stated. On infrastructure, he said the state would be given facelift through critical repairs and restore confidence in security.

“We shall further engage the Federal Government and international community to review obnoxious judgments against us with the aim of creating relief in the pains arising from the loss of Bakassi and the ceding of our 76 oil wells and streamline our boundaries to minimise communal crisis.”

In his valedictory speech, Ayade  said he performed magic out of nothing, giving the state’s lean revenue allocation.

“As a civil servant state, Cross River depends on only allocation, I decided to push very hard to see that by the time I leave, I would have set up infrastructures, which I did. 
 
“I love Cross River, you gave me an opportunity as a governor, changing from PDP to APC and, in less than two years, I delivered Bassey Otu. History will be fair to me because we laid a foundation for back to south. This is not a transition, it a continuation,” Ayade said.