 Senator Basio II takes oath of office as Cross River State's governor and promises a robust administration. Tonight, we take a look at his agenda for the state. And Edidemot II, the fifth, the oblong of Calabas if a kingmaker's declare. This is Plus Politics, and I'm Mary Anna Cole. The newly sworn-in governor of Cross River State, Senator Basio II, has taken the oath of office and promised a robust administration. Otto, who represented the South Senatorial District in the 8th Assembly, said his gifted opportunity in the legislative, with that he would leverage on the template in providing best governance to the people of Cross River State. He said his administration is confident and determined to restructure the state, huge debt stuck, while strengthening its physical pasture. Joining us to discuss the agenda, of course, is the chairman of the Cross River State All Progressive Congress and the person of Alfonso's, Eba. It's so good to have you join us, Mr. Chairman. Good evening, viewers. Thank you for having me. Well, I think congratulations is in order, as Cross River State now has a new government. And of course, what lies ahead is a huge responsibility, talking about one of the few things that he mentioned, which is the huge debt profile of Cross River State, and of course, many other things that lie ahead. But let's start with talking about the agenda of the Basio II administration. What exactly is he, what does he stand for? What is he pushing for? What are the things that he's going to do for Cross River State that, of course, made Cross Riverians vote for him on mass? Yeah, thank you very much. If you have followed the campaign promises of Senator or Prince Basio II, the newest one in government of Cross River State, you would have gotten the full glimpse of what he promised Cross Riverians, which is not just an idea that he took solely, but he used the opportunity of his thank you visit in the month of July, August, shortly after the primaries, to get the buy-in of the people of Cross River State going around the 18 local governments. And he came up with a single document called the People's First Agenda. So what do you expect as an agenda setting for the new government in Cross River State? Is a sustainable human-centered holistic development paradigm that is pro-people, that is pro-poor, that is pro-masses, that is pro-women, that is pro-widows and pro-elderly. It's all about people, people and people. And it is not amazing because while in the legislature, as a House of Rep member and Senator, Prince Basio II is being remembered as that member of the National Assembly who institutionalized empowerment, you will recall that as a member of the House of Reps and Senator, this man bought over 400 cars and shared to people to encourage a transportation business state. This man in the area of Advertising Senatorial District gave over 1,000 plot of land, secured the settlement of Occupancy and the reasonable number we're giving about 500,000 above to build these houses. And all he did was employment opportunities. If you see his bill in the National Assembly, the Petroleum Industry Bill today that cut us for the employment of so many Nigerians, the NDIC Act today that has brought sanity to the banking sector, you will see that everything he has done is pro-people, pro-people and pro-people. And therefore it was not amazing when on that day of his inauguration, he declared again that he was coming for the people. But one other land, much statement he made. Mr Chairman, are you there? Can you hear me? Oh, I think we have a bad connection there. Can you hear me? I think that we've lost that connection there with the Chairman. Mr Eba, can you hear me? I'll hear you. All right, go ahead. We lost you for a second, but go ahead. Oh, sorry. On the day of inauguration, the speech of his Excellency, Senator Prince Barciedda II was very, very clear. I'm growing industrialization and addressing security challenges across the state. He made a clear warning to criminal elements in the state that they have just two options. Drop your criminal act and join the government or leave Cross River State immediately. That was a very strong statement. And I know he's a man that follows his word with action. So today, perseverance knows that they can go to their bed and sleep with their eyes closed because one man has taken an oath not to sleep again so that perseverance can sleep. And that man is the new governor of Cross River State, Senator Prince Barciedda II. So it is about the people. He's talking about moving from food on the table to providing food for the table. Therefore, the mantra that his predecessor, Senator Professor Ben Ayah, came up with to say food on the table, hands on the plow. While there was food on the table in the last eight years, everybody's been called upon to put their hands on the plow. So agriculture is the way to go. Mineral resources, mining opportunities is the way to go. Going back to school and learning all forms of vocational trade is the way to go. Providing healthcare services for our people is the way to go. Providing access roads for rural dwellers. Providing social amenities like electricity, pipe-borne water, and Medicare is the way to go. It is a very good note to know that Professor Ben Ayah has already set the state on an agro-industrial lane. So all that Prince O2 comes upon to do, like we call him the icing of the cake that is so sweet, is coming as a finisher and as a polisher. So it is going to be a better time for Cross River State. Great. Talking about his speech on his inauguration, he talked about the fact that he has been gifted, of course, with legislative opportunities and he wants to leverage on those templates. But then we're looking at the enormous challenges that Cross Riverians are facing right now. And one would want to start from there. Cross River State at some point used to be a destination for all to visit. I'm talking about a tourist destination with the likes of the Obudu Ranch Resort and, of course, several other places in the city. Can that really be said of Kalabat today? You mentioned something about insecurity which had heightened under the Ayadeh administration. Why do you think that this is the case today? Again, Cross River State used to be the number one clean, maybe the cleanest state in the country at the time. Now it's been overtaken by states like Karquaybom. Should that not be some of the things that the governor should tackle before he begins to maybe engage in some other huge project as opposed to, you know, because you said he's a people's person, but the people live in the midst of trash, the people dealing with insecurity. And, of course, you've talked about food on the table. What is the rate of businesses that are coming into the states and investments private or, you know, local investments that are in the state? We're going to quickly take a break and bring back the chairman because we are having connection issues. But stay with us, we'll be right back. It's still plus politics and we're being joined by Alfonso Zabahi, he is the chairman of the APC in Cross River State. Now, before we went on that break, of course, we're discussing agenda setting for the new governor of the state, Basiu II. Now, before we went on, we had that little glitch. I was asking, Cross River State used to be number one in terms of places to visit tourism. It was a tourist heaven. And I mentioned a few other places where, like the Range Resort, we had some other places in Calabar where you could go to the slave trade museum. I mean, and several other places. Right now, as we speak, Cross River is nowhere to be found on that tourism list. Again, insecurity never used to be something you would mention in the same sentence with Cross River State, especially Calabar. But as we speak, we've had so many occurrences. A former honor personality in the state media was kidnapped. And this is something that you could not necessarily associate with Cross River State. Let's talk FDIs, Foreign Direct Investments and businesses. How have they been able to thrive in that atmosphere with all of these things that I've mentioned? Insecurity did not just become a national problem. It became a global problem. With the death of Muhammad Gaddafi of Libya, it became a free access for all the al-Qaeda's and all the Islamic militias to move freely from the Central African Republic into the northern part of this country. And as you will see, the northeast flank of Bautri through Gumbay, Boronu, Adamawa, through Tarabah empties from Casino Line, Benway State, into the northern part of Cross River State and percolates into the southern part of Cross River. Again, in 2016 to 2017-2018, the federal government threw a daily parade for this city. Oh dear, I think that we're having a serious connection issue with you there, Mr Chairman. But can you hear me? To the entire five states. I can hear you very well. Okay, go ahead. Can you hear me? Yes. Can you hear me? Yes, I can. I was giving you a background of how terrorism and other forms of insecurity percolated into Cross River State. The federal government, through an innocent policy of oppression-safe haven, decided to protect the five states of the south-south region and kept Cross River State away on the understanding that Cross River State had no security challenges. But some of these criminal elements decided to relocate to the creeks in Akabu and Bakasi. And then the only business that tried within that period was kidnapping. But with a huge attention that was given by the former governor, Senator Professor Ben Ayadeh, the operation at Baku was launched and it was able to contain the issue of insecurity. That which you used to hear has almost gone to ground zero. Today in Cross River State, crime rate has reduced to its barest minimum. And I can tell you that we remain in one of the safest places to be. In terms of tourism destination, I agree with you that with the establishment and renovation of both Tinapa and Obudokatu Ranch, it came up with a new vista of technology like the cable car that people were experiencing in Obudokatu Ranch, like the monorail that Governor Ben Ayadeh also came to complete after Governor Leah Lebow-Kestenio. People saw all this as destination where people could come and sit in and be excited. However, Governor Ben Ayadeh came up with a business mindset and discovered that the multiplier financial effect of how we can have our return in terms of the investment into tourism should not just be about dancing and people committing, but what value it can add to governance. For instance, the Governor himself was heard to have said on a rise television last month where the cable car was renovated with millions of Naira. And that same year, the only money that could be recovered in terms of patronage was less than 100,000 Naira. For a man who came with a business mindset, that kind of investment was not the better return for it. But what has it done to address that issue? It was to think that, oh, getting an access route from Bekwara down to Oban-Liku was going to help. And not just renovating the ranch but having an airport in Obudokatu. As we speak today, over three kilometers of the runway has been done in the new Obudokatu International Cargo Airport because it could be very boring for you to fly through. Mr. Chairman, can you hear me? To fly back. Every tourism is meant to be enjoyed. So what the Governor has done is to revamp Obudokatu Ranch. And if you listen very well in the inaugural speech of the new Governor, he has spoken about paying attention to this Obudokatu Ranch. What to me is that the completion of the airport project will also become a leap on scene to that conclusion because you can now fly from Lagos straight into Obudokatu and enjoy yourself and travel back. That is what the proper tourism would mean, not the stress of going through a very perilous road. Interesting. Quickly, before we go to foreign direct investment, what ever happened to Kali Air? Because the Governor, I remember, said that this was also a plus. I mean, I'll make reference to your neighbouring state, Aqaibom, who has Ibum Air. And we've seen how it's continuing to grow in lips and bounds. What can Cross River State boast of in terms of Kali Air? You must also understand that there is no basis for comparison. We are not on the same financial strength with Aqaibom State. Aqaibom State ends 20 times what we end. However, the credit you must give to the Governor's initiative on Kali Air was also to support tourism. It got to a point in time that the monopoly of Ibum Air skyrocketed airfares into Kalaba by about 500%. Today, as I speak with you, I just booked a ticket for my wife to return to Abu Dhabi for 80-something thousand Naira. When Kali Air was flying here, we never had the experience of paying more than 30,000 or 40,000. We fought in Kali Air with 19,000. That was part of the challenge we were here to address. We acquired two aircraft and we thought we could get our own license to fly this. Unfortunately, the NCA changed our regulation and said for you to get your AOC, you did about three aircraft. Shouldn't this have been part of the planning process? Just as you said, it's not a game or a competition of sorts with other people. If we know what our financial status is as a state, shouldn't we be working within that budget and planning to see how we can better our lot as opposed to engaging in elephant projects that's going to cripple us? And all of these things you're saying now, shouldn't you have been part of your feasibility studies before acquiring these aircrafts? I am sure you are a journalist. I would have shown that the NCA regulation until the period where we bought our aircraft requires you to purchase only two aircraft to have your AOC. It was when we acquired our aircraft and it was not targeted at the nine crossover states. NCA changed the regulation from two aircraft to three. And because we're not financially strong enough to acquire the third aircraft, we decided creatively to go into a partnership with Arrow Contractor. Arrow Contractor is known as one of the very, very air companies that has no history of any crash and have been operation for over 60 years. They are into aircraft maintenance and all what not. That is why we went into them. But shortly after then, they had their challenge with Amcom. That was the hitch and glitch we suffered temporarily. But Kali Air has been back on air, except that because of the traffic to other parts of northern countries, northern Nigeria, and because it's a Boeing 737 point, there is no need for it coming to Cross River with such a subsidized rate by government because they also want to make profit from the investment of the partnership. So not as Kali Air is a wild fund project. Early air is still on air. It flies on that route. Why Arrow Contractor sent their smaller aircraft to supply Cross River state route in Calabar? Interesting. So it is not a waste of investment. Yes. Interesting. Let's talk about investments in Cross River states so far under the previous administration. Of course, the governor had mentioned that he's going to do a lot of collaborations within and without the state, of course, to bring more business and put Cross River back on the map. How do you think he intends to do that? And what if you were opportune to advise the governor on how to get these foreign direct investments? Where should he be targeting for someone who's watched Anayade government? The governor himself has stated clearly where the agro-tourism will land its map and taking advantage of the over 20 industries that Governor Anayade have built. Some have been commissioned today. He did not just talk about that. He spoke about health tourism. I just came back from Obudu. Where the Obudu German hospital that was a part of the Cross River state government and the Coast Charis, Nigeria. First of its kind, a world-class health center with the best equipment and facilities. I go to Dubai in the Saudi German hospital to do my health check every two years but I can tell you what I saw in Obudu was equipment where equipment that were most sophisticated and the ambience of the environment that runs even better than what I see in Dubai. Therefore, there will be medical tourism now to Cross River state all courtesy of Governor Anayade of which the present governor is coming to also build on. Again, he talked about educational tourism in his manifesto and which is also contained in the people's first. Today, the Teachers Training Continuous College, TCTC in Biaset is a world-class digital learning center. The new private university which is also a partnership between the private sector and Cross River state in Obudu. The University of Medicine and Law is also another avenue where people will drive to Cross River state for the agricultural, for the health and the educational. What's the accessibility level? How accessible are these places? Because everything you've mentioned seems to be in one location. It seems like all the gop, the hospital. I'm just saying it's in one direction. How accessible are these places? What is the road network? I mean, you've told us that you have tried to walk on the runway taking you to Tanapa. What is the accessibility to the German hospital? What's the accessibility to the one in Biaset? Again, let's not forget that if people have to have access to that hospital they need to be able to go there by road because not everybody can fly. Besides, there are no runways in those places. Yes, and that is why I told you that. The setting up of the airport in Obudu will do so much to complement the investment in Obudu. But the project in TCCC, which is in Biaset, it takes you one hour, 30 minutes from Calabar to get to Biaset is a world-class institution. And don't forget, if it be for the airport in Obudu it will come on board. Should you land in Enugu? Or you are coming by road from Abuja? The road today from Abuja down to Boko is a dual-carriage expressway. You have only a short-haul network between Boko to Vandikia area. When you get to Boko, you are teaching in German. Governor Benayali has also done... We're having a poor connection from you again, Mr. Chairman but quickly, if you can hear me, I'm just going to go to talk about, again, the governor of the state, the new governor and of course, what are the proposals for this new administration? I want to find out, the incoming government, where do they start to hit the ground running? You keep talking about agriculture with the wave of a hand, agriculture. Cross-reverse state is obviously also known for its agrarian nature but how much of that agriculture have we really, really bought into? We heard about the rice farming that was part of some of the, you know, I think it was part of the campaign that Governor Benayali used. We heard about all sorts of things but really, where is Kalachika or whatever it's called? What happened to the rice farm? We've seen, we've heard so many things but we've not necessarily seen how these things have grown and how they've been able to impact our finances or the financial status of the state. So if we're looking at agriculture and as you said, Prince O'Too is going to face this. Where does he start from? Should he probe what happened to the rice factory? Should he probe what's happened to Kalachika? Because someone has to start from somewhere. So where does he go from there? And if we're looking at agriculture, what kind of infrastructure have we put in place that would not just help us to move away from the whole and machete to mechanize farming? We pay lip service to it but in actuality should we have not at least gotten to graduated to the point of mechanized farming in cross river state, being an agrarian state? We have staple foods in cross river state. One of them is rice. One of them is cassava. Then our protein. The best which is better is chicken. Consumption by children and even adults, beverages, koku. Cross river state today has comparative advantage in not just the grain of this kind of crops but in processing of these crops. Today, the vitaminized rice seed and seedling factory in Kalabaa with the best technology which is tested and trusted first of its kind in Africa still exists in the Ayadeh industrial park in Kalabaa. How much metric turn of rice do you produce in a day? I can't hear you. How many metric tone of rice do you produce in a day? You have a great infrastructure. What are you using it for? No, we have the ultra-modern rice mill in Ugojaya has an installed capacity for 5 to 50 metric tone per hour installed capacity. So how many do you produce in a day? As we speak today, how many has it produced? I was in that factory last week and they told me that because of the lack of paddy, they have not been able to meet up their own target. So sometimes they do 5 metric tone and just stop at that but they intend to increase it to about 16 metric tone per hour. So it's not living up to its capacity? That's what you're telling me. It's not living up to its capacity? Yes, it's not living up to its capacity and that is where the Prince used focus of telling Cross-Iverian that agriculture is to go comes into being. We have no business with Overtake. We have able energetic young men in Cross-Iver state. But the people are poor. We don't have any business with property but the people seem to be poor. There are no jobs. There are people who are... The people are poor because the people are poor because the enabling environment for government to farmers, the equipments, mechanized implements for them to use as overtime not been made available. But now that we have processing facilities, now that we have technologies that has been introduced into this and now that the government of Prince Barciedetotu is focused on developing this sector, we are saying that poverty is bye-bye to Cross-Iver state. Okay. And myself sitting here with you today, I took the initiative when in the last few years the governor said your hands on the plow, your food on the table. I started livestock farming today. Oh my goodness. It's been a very tricky network. I talk about women but now that Prince Otu is coming and has come on board and wants to support this sector, I want to go and improve my rice cultivation in a large scale. Okay. So that I can also contribute to feeding the rice meal and I will call on every young man and woman to also join in that. Okay. I want to say thank you unfortunately because we're having this connection issue, we're unable to touch on some of the other things, but hopefully I will be able to have the governor here in this show to tell us himself what his plans are for the people of Cross-Iver state. Alfonso's Eba is the chairman of the All Progressive Congress in Cross-Iver state. Thank you so much for speaking with us. We appreciate it. Thank you very much. Nice to be with you. All right. We'll take a quick break when we return. We'll be discussing the controversy over the title of the Obong of Calabas. Stay with us. We'll be right back.