According to a NAN report, the proposed visit of
President Buhari to Cross River State for the
groundbreaking ceremony for the construction of a 260km
superhighway has been cancelled. A statement by Christian
Ita, the Chief Press Secretary to Governor Ben Ayade
of Cross River, on Thursday, confirmed the cancellation.
It stated that the decision to postpone the ceremony was
communicated to the governor in a letter signed by the Chief
of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari.
“The presidency attributed the shift to a letter
written to the president by the Permanent
Secretary, Federal Ministry of Environment,
Nana Fatima Mede. “She claimed that the
proposed highway, if allowed to go on, would cut
through the Cross River National Park. “The
letter claimed that the Environmental Impact
Assessment (EIA) on the proposed road was yet to
be carried out,” the statement said.
But Mr. Ita stated that the proposed road would not
traverse the Cross River National Park, as the
superhighway would be several kilometres away from the
national park.
“Based on the input of the Cross River National
Park, the road has since been re-routed with the
alignment now several kilometers away from the
park. “As a governor who is passionate about the
preservation of the state’s biodiversity with his
establishment of the Green Police, he would not
embark on a project that would undermine the
environment,” Mr. Ita stated.
He said the EIA report on the road was being handled by
environmental consultants, PGM (Nig) Limited
recommended to the state by the Federal Ministry of
Environment. Mr. Ita said the governor would work
closely with the presidency to clear areas of doubt, adding
that a new date for the ceremony would be announced
later.
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