Cross River Governor, Ben Ayade, has said while his administration was crystallising industrialisation of the state, private investors are needed to drive it.
The governor made the assertion at the weekend while conducting the President of the Coscharis Group, Cosmos Maduka, round the administration’s projects in Northern Cross River.
Elated by what he saw, especially a section of the 274km superhighway linking Cross River with Northern Nigeria, Maduka said he was willing to invest in the state.
According him, before his visit, he had always dismissed the project as a facade. He said Coscharis, a multi-sectorial conglomerate, would explore the possibility of maximising investment opportunities that abound in Cross River.
“What we are seeing here is incredible to say the least. It is better seen than imagined. Anytime you hear news about the superhighway from Ikom all the way to Benue State, everybody says forget it, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
“One day, I asked the governor, where is this superhighway? He said do not worry, one of these days, I am going to take you there. And I asked, are you just planning to start it? He said, No, 90km of it is waiting to be asphalted. And today, I am standing on the road myself and I am just short of words to say the least.
“We came in here yesterday, we have looked at the British International School, we went to Obudu, we have seen the hospital being built, we are just coming from the airport and I was wondering where he is getting the resources to do all these. What we are seeing here is capacity of thinking, of brainstorming,” Maduka said.
The Coscharis president, who disclosed that the conglomerate has investments around Africa, said he was disposed towards investing in Cross River.
Meanwhile, the governor described the Coscharis boss as “a core investor with credible track record,” adding that he was encouraging him to invest in Cross River.
“The reason Cocharis is here in Obudu is to ensure the specialist hospital here becomes a reality. He is the representative of Siemens and that hospital is going to be equipped by Siemens.