The presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, has promised to develop the Calabar port as part of efforts to promote commercial activities in the South-South region of the country.
He made the promise on Monday while addressing the electorate in Cross River State during the PDP presidential campaign rally at the UJ Esuene Stadium in Calabar.
He said he will also ensure the construction of rail lines from Lagos through Calabar to Port Harcourt while promising to link the state with other parts of the country through the construction of road infrastructure.
“If you open up the Calabar port it will create massive business and important opportunities for the people of Cross River State. Another thing you should understand, the moment the Calabar port is expanded and is functional, it is going to be an attraction to factories and businesses and it will be to the benefit of the people of Cross River State.
“This is just one, again agricultural potentials are going to be multiplied. So developing Calabar port alone is going to be an abundant opportunity for the people of Cross River and I promise you, if you vote for PDP for the president and governorship, we will work together with your governors, your legislators we will implement this policy which has been grounded by APC.
“There is the issue of infrastructural development, that is first of all, the road networks connecting you with neighbouring states and then secondly the proposed rail line from Lagos through Calabar to Port Harcourt,” Atiku said.
Also speaking, the Chairman of the PDP Campaign Council and governor of Akwa-Ibom state, Udom Emmanuel assured the people of Cross River, what Atiku will do when elected.
He said: “Our colour is PDP, our colour is capacity, our colour is human development, our colour is delivering prosperity, development and then poverty alleviation. I want to assure you that infrastructure in terms of the road network under Atiku Abubakar will be very well developed.”
In a vague reference to the governor of Cross River state, Ben Ayade and others who defected from PDP, the National Chairman of the party, Senator Iyorcha Ayu, who also spoke at the campaign rally, said they will come back.
“You have voted for some of our great sons and daughters in the PDP, unfortunately, some of them have disappointed you. But wherever they are going, they will come back home because the people of Cross River state will not go with them.
“I want to beg of you that on the 25th of this month, vote for one person who will unify this country, who will wipe your tears, who will make sure that the economy of Nigeria comes back to be the first and best economy in the continent.
“When we left office in 2015, Naira was exchanged at N180 to a dollar. How much is naira exchanging to a dollar today, N800 to a dollar? That brings poverty to you. When we left, we left a foreign debt of $9.6 billion. Within seven years, the APC has increased that debt to $97 billion dollars.
”In order words, each one of you standing here is a debtor and it is affecting the economy of this country because all the money we are earning, we spend on servicing debt,” he said.
Other party chieftains including the vice presidential candidate, Ifeanyi Okowa, National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu, Akwa Ibom State governor, Udom Emmanuel, former governor of Cross River State, Liyel Imoke among others were also part of the campaign trail to Calabar.
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