Obong of Calabar charges government on infrastructure

The Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi-Otu has charged the Cross River State and Federal Government to put the necessary infrastructure in place to attract investors.

The Obong who made this charge in his palace in Calabar on Monday when the management of Calabar Free Trade Zone (CFTZ) led by Mr. Godwin Ekpe head of the Zone, paid him a courtesy visit, said “investors are not father Christmas who go anywhere and dash people money when the necessary indices are put in place. The investors will come when the necessary infrastructures are in place, you don’t need to go abroad to bring investors”.

Represented by Etubom Bassey Duke the Chairman of Traditional Rulers Council, the Efik Monarch who identified infrastructural decay in the state as the major factor militating against the speedy growth of the CFTZ in the state, said the state lacked the necessary infrastructure to boast activities at the Zone, in spite of the huge Federal Government investment.

He appealed to the Federal Government to take a second look at the infrastructural needs of the state noting that the only road linking Calabar and other parts of the country were in total disrepairs.

The Obong said with good road, regular water and power supply, coupled with assured security, investors will come and invest and “once the investors are okay with investment environment, they will come in with their money to invest and make profit.”

Ekpe said, he and his team were in the palace to seek the natural rulers support and blessings to move the zone forward.

He commended the monarch for the peaceful nature of the state that informed the choice of the Federal Government to cite the CFTZ in Calabar, adding that “since the establishment of the zone to date, no criminal activity has been recorded and attributed it to the Obong and his Council.