BUHARI CANCELS VISIT TO CROSS RIVER STATE.

The proposed visit of President Muhammadu Buhari to
Cross River State for the ground breaking ceremony of
the 260km dual carriage superhighway has been
cancelled.
A statement signed by Mr Christian Ita, the Chief Press
Secretary to Gov. Ben Ayade of Cross River, made
available to journalists on Thursday in Calabar
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.’’
But 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’’ Ita
stated.
He said the EIA report on the road was being handled
by PGM (Nig) Ltd.– environmental consultants–
recommended to the state by the Federal Ministry of
Environment.
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.
(NAN)