Leadership (Abuja)
Edem Edem
25 December 2008
Calabar — The deputy governor of Cross River State, Mr. Effiok Cobham, has said that the debt burden the administration led by Senator Liyel Imoke will leave behind may be more than what the government inherited from Donald Duke, given the developmental strides of the administration.
Justifying the huge bank loan collected by the administration to procure large quantity of vehicles and other developmental purposes, Cobham said their administration is focused and have embarked on people oriented programmes.
Cobham, who was interacting with Journalists in Calabar, lamented that the administration inherited huge debt from the immediate past administration, but added that the debt was justified, given the number of developmental projects embark upon by that government, such as Tinapa, Marina Resorts and Leisure, amongst others.
The deputy governor, while answering questions from Leadership Correspondent at the occasion said "it is true that we bought large number of cars/vehicles but it is not true that we gave it out to our friends, the cars were given to government agencies, department etc and any government department that didn't get theirs now should forget it as the government will not buy any other car again till the end of the administration."
On where the government got the resources to buy the cars, Mr. Effiok Cobham said that the administration is a friendly one, hence banks issued the government with the facilities to buy the vehicles and to embark on other developmental and people oriented projects.
"We have arrangement with banks that funded the purchase of those vehicles, the debt burden inherited was huge, it doesn't bother us as most of the projects were developmental and our own debt may be higher given our programmes" Effiok stated.
Advising Journalists to take to politics, the deputy governor, explained that politics is not restricted to a particular profession as any body can excel in it and urged the men of the pen profession to take other professions that will enhance their take home pay and not to expect him to come down from his throne of grace to mingle with them any more.
He said, "Politics is not restricted to any profession, don't wait for politician to remember you, no matter the role you play in bringing democracy to the people, do your work, don't think about front page, consider national interest while doing your work, think of other professions, I believe in the freedom of the press, try to go up, don't expect me to come down for you"
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