Shettima urges students, others to recommit to reading, scholarship

The former governorship candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC) in Cross River State in the 2023 election, Mr Effiong Efa Nyong, has berated the state government over the purchase of two additional aircraft worth billions of naira to boost the fleet of its airline, Cally Air.

The ADC chieftain, who spoke during the second stakeholders meeting of the party in Calabar at the weekend, accused the government of the All Progressives Congress (APC) of not being sensitive to the plight of Cross Riverians.

Nyong, who described the acquisition of the aircraft as a misplaced priority, said it was coming at a time when Cross Riverians are grappling with hardship resulting from the party’s economic policies, which have shot up food inflation and almost brought the economy to a halt.

He criticised the government for not being able to float a public transportation system for the common man, but could fund opulent spending on aircraft targeted at the elites to mock hardworking but underprivileged Cross Riverians who cannot afford the cost of travelling by air.

“You can imagine a government spending millions of dollars to acquire aircraft in a state where there is no public transportation system, no buses to convey the common man, no good roads to move produce from the rural areas to the townships. It is terrible,” he lamented.

MEANWHILE, Vice President Kashim Shettima has urged Nigerians, particularly students, researchers, and professionals in Cross River State, to cultivate a renewed passion for reading and scholarship by making the newly remodelled Cross River State Library in Calabar their “second home.”

He described the ultramodern facility as a sanctuary of knowledge and innovation that will shape destinies, nurture ideas, and propel the state into the forefront of intellectual advancement.

Commissioning the library in Calabar, Shettima noted that the transformation of the once-dilapidated structure into a state-of-the-art knowledge centre is a clear testimony of Governor Bassey Otu’s visionary leadership and enduring investment in intellectual infrastructure.

He commended the governor for breathing new life into a public institution that had long been neglected, remarking that the library is not just a building filled with books, but a living monument of enlightenment and a beacon of hope for generations yet unborn.

The Vice President, who was accompanied by a high-powered delegation of federal officials, emphasised that education and access to knowledge remain indispensable pillars of national development. (THE GUARDIAN)