Cross River State Governor, Prof. Ben Ayade, has pledged to work harder in his second term to ensure the total transformation of the socio-economic landscape of the state.
Speaking during the pre-inaugural thanksgiving service at St. Charles’s Lwanga Catholic Church in Calabar, Ayade, praised God for a successful end of first tenur and reiterated his commitment to banish poverty in the state.
“I committed myself by expanding government to ensure that at least a member of each family was represented in my government to earn salary. I kept faith in spite of daunting challenges.
“It was not by my might or my power but God saw me through, which is why we have come to return all glory to God almighty. We are also here to thank the Almighty because in anticipation that He will see me through in the next four years,” he said.
He assured that his “commitment to the people of Cross River will be stronger as we begin the second journey of transforming the state from a third-class world to the first-class through aggressive industrialisation drive.”
He acknowledged the dedication, understanding and commitment of his wife in the last four years.
“She has been the source of my strength as her prayers have kept me going. The inspiration that I have to put food on the table was driven by the circumstances of her own history.
“Today, we have come together as a state to thank God for his unending love and show of love in spite of our short comings in the last four years.
“Never in the history of Cross River State has a governor won every single polling unit in an election. For the first time, we had a fantastic result.
“It was not by our power but by the power of God that we recorded such a landslide victory and I must once again thank the good people of Cross River State for the show of love and confidence in my capacity to transform the state.
“The whole world knows that I took over the mantle of leadership at a very trying moment given the economic recession, political tension and deep paralysis, yet we enjoyed absolute peace, ecclesiastic calmness and tranquility that allowed me to focus on my commitment that no child should go to bed with an empty stomach through the expansion of government.”
On petitions against his re-election, the governor called on his opponents to toe the path of politicians in Enugu State, who withdrew their cases against the governor because they all belonged to the same Christian faith.