Akwa Ibom, Cross River Insensitive to Calabar-Itu Road, Says Enang

The Senior Special Assistant to President Muhammadu Buhari on Niger Delta Affairs, Sen. Ita Enang, has lamented that stakeholders in Akwa Ibom and Cross River States have not done enough to draw the federal government attention to repair the Calabar-Itu federal road. Enang made the accusation when he appeared on the Correspondents' Arena in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, at the weekend. The presidential aide, who was the immediate-past Senior Special Assistant to the President on National Assembly Matters, challenged all National Assembly members from Akwa Ibom and Cross River States to declare what effort they have made to draw federal government attention to the state of the road. According to him, "I challenge all members of the House of Representatives, all senators representing Akwa Ibom and Cross River States and the Governor of the states to mention their efforts towards the state of Calabar/Itu road." Speaking on the need to diversify the country's economy as the world continues to grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, Enang said the Basin Development Authority has handed over all lands within its jurisdiction in all the Niger Delta states for agricultural purposes. As part of the COVID-19 relief programme, he disclosed that the federal government has, through the Nigeria Incentive-Based Risk Sharing system for Agricultural Lending (NIRSAL), Nigeria Agricultural Lands Development Authority (NALDA), CBN, NDDC and the Cross River Basin Development Authority, released grants to beneficiaries collated to enable them go into large scale agricultural businesses, as part of the federal government Emergency Agricultural Programme.