Cross River State Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Asu Okang, has maintained that “young people handling core political appointments in CRS have delivered” and are helping state governor, Ben Ayade, achieve his dream for the state.
Okang who spoke this morning on HIT 95.9 FM’s breakfast show was quick to point out that he was barely 35 when he was appointed into Ayade’s cabinet alongside Betta Edu, Director-General, CRS Primary Health Care Development Agency, Asuquo Ekpenyong, Finance Commissioner, as well as Health Commissioner, Inyang Asibong, among several others occupying sensitive positions in the Ben Ayade administration.
“You can see that my ministry is trending and my colleagues in the health sector are doing a great job. In the Finance Ministry you can also see that even though our country was in a recession, our finances were properly managed and our people did not so much as feel the economic pains that so many people in other parts of the country felt. It is a plus to us, young people, especially too that our governor has kept faith with us.”
On the Permanent Orientation Camp of the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, in Obubra, the Commissioner said government had to embark on the renovation of the camp after “some corps members posted pictures of the deplorable conditions at the camp, on social media. Some of the posts referred to their hostels as a poultry. Government therefore reacted with the renovation of facilities at the camp for N268 million.” He gave assurances that corps members posted to the state and commencing orientation in the second week of this month, will resume at the Permanent Orientation Camp, Obubra, as renovation of the place is almost through.
The hosting of the National Sports Festival he also said will be done in the second quarter of 2018. Already, he revealed, N1.3 billion has so far been spent on facilities while an additional N1.6 billion will be spent on 11 projects, still at several levels of work. He listed the Olympic swimming pool in the U. J. Esuene stadium, hockey pitches and the mini stadia in the Cross River State University of Technology, CRUTECH, as topping the list of projects to be completed for the festival.