Ayade seeks North’s support on superhighway

Cross River State Governor Ben Ayade has urged northern leaders to prevail on President Muhammadu Buhari to support the superhighway.

Ayade, who pleaded with Buhari to fulfil the pledge he made while performing the groundbreaking, said the superhighway was conceived to bring the North closer to the Atlantic Ocean.

He said: “As I watch the superhighway and deep seaport, which form the basis of a new Nigeria, a generational and a philosophical change I had envisaged for this country being treated with indifference by the Federal Government, I see with rage that a country so awash with solid mineral deposits, crude oil deposits, huge human resources, young, intelligent and smart minds, is being reduced to want in body, spirit and soul, occasioned by the poor exploitation of our own resources.

“We are so rich and so blessed that we have no business with poverty. I believe this is the time to say it before it is too late. As the entire people of northern Nigeria, you have a reason and responsibility to join me in this cry, to seek and ask President Muhammadu Buhari to recognise the value of export agriculture, to recognise the value of solid mineral for export, to recognise the vast mineral resources from coal tar to cobalt, to titanium to columbite, to bauxite and iron ore. The list is endless.

“Agriculture is in excess in the North, but the North will continue to remain in turmoil until there is a direct connection and access to a maritime domain, and that can only be provided by the superhighway. The superhighway will connect the North to the Atlantic Ocean, shorten travel time, increase business and turn the region into an export-oriented region, particularly the Northeast…”