From Kenneth Udeh

Senator representing Cross River North in Nigeria’s Senate, Jarigbe Agom Jarigbe has declared that he is fully committed to the creation of the present day Cross River State.

The Chairman Senate Committee on Gas bared his mind on Saturday during an early morning programme “The Public View” on HIT 95.9 FM monitored by the SUN.

Jarigbe who appeared as a guest on Calabar’s flagship news and current affairs belt emphasized that, “Ebonyi is what it is today because it was carved out of Enugu and made a state.

He dismissed speculations that his endorsement for the creation of the proposed State is a plot to disintegrate the present Cross River State but rather an intention borne out of the desire to facilitate development in one of Nigeria’s oldest provinces which is still largely underdeveloped and marginalized in the scheme of things.

Jarigbe explained his position; “It has brought development to that part of Nigeria and there’s the added advantage of bringing governance close to the people. As I speak, Ogoja is the only old provincial headquarters in Nigeria that has not been made a state capital and this is sad, I must say.”

On attempts to classify and position Ogoja as belonging to Nigeria’s middle belt, Jarigbe insisted that “Ogoja” belongs to the South-South of Nigeria.

“We do not belong to the Middle belt because our people are in the South-South, our culture, our tradition; and we cannot be classified as belonging to the Middle because we are not”, Jarigbe explained.