5 June 2019
The people of Obudu Local Government Area under the auspices of Cross River Coalition Against Land Grabbing have raised the alarm over the proposed Obudu International Cargo Airport vowing to stop the project by protest and any other means necessary.
They also warned that anyone coming into the LGA as a government official in respect of the proposed airport was doing so at their own peril as their safety was not guaranteed at all.
The people who vowed to protest massively in making sure the project never sees the light of day described the cargo airport project as a land grabbing scheme by the Ayade led administration.
In a release signed by the Coordinator of the group, Com Agbor Agbor and Secretary ,Justine Odey respectively they said not that the people of Obudu were against development but they would not fold their hands and watch their heritage been taken away in a deceitful and forceful manner
In their words: “Well, we are not against development per se, but would not fold our hands and see our heritage being forcefully taken away from us. The mass hectares of land being proposed for the airport is our farm lands and our means of livelihood. What are the alternatives? Nobody has told us.
"Ordinarily this would have been a welcome development as it would not only bring succour and facilitated development to Northern parts of the state. But considering the way and manner this administration of Ayade has been handling projects and making caricature of Cross Riverians, it has become imperative for us to ask questions concerning the rationale behind building another airport when we have Calabar Airport that is almost near comatose as only two flights maximum fly the route now.
“It is on record that Gov Ayade on assumption of office vowed to deliver three signature projects including Garment Factory, Super Highway and Bakassi Deep Sea Port. Till date only Garment Factory is completed but not optimally functional. The Supper Highway is still a mirage as the project was used to grab land from communities in the state as well as to explore the forest reserves and its resources including timber logging,” they bemoaned.
They also said the project was just another way of mocking CrossRiverians and land grabbing agenda by the current administration as it (government) has no intentions of developing the area.
According to them:”We are entering into another circus show of constructing a Cargo Airport in Obudu. On whose land and whose expense is the airport? Is Ayade is really interested in developing the North, please we advice him to first complete the roads he started; renovate the RANCH Resorts to the standard former Gov Duke left it and then renovate the Bebi Airstrip to be functional and efficient.
“In view of the above stated facts we demand the immediate stoppage of the illegal acquisition of the people's land in guise of building an airport, we also demand the immediate rehabilitation of the Ranch Resorts, Bebi Airstrip and completion of all roads in the North started by Gov Ayade ," they said.
