Planes, But No Roads? Otu’s New Jets Spark Fury

By: Akinde S. Oluwaseun

Two new airplanes for the Cross River government. Sounds impressive.

But Dr. Effiong Nyong, he’s not impressed. Not at all. He’s furious.

Nyong, who used to run for governor under the ADC, was talking to some reporters Friday in Calabar. He called the whole thing a “terrible misplacement of priorities.” A “sheer wastage” of money. Basically, a slap in the face to the people.

His point was simple. People can’t eat airplanes. He said that money should’ve gone into fixing the states busted roads. Roads that everyday people use. You know, the ones who will probably never set foot on a plane in their whole life. “The purchase of the two aircrafts,” he said, “is a terrible act of disservice.”

Nyong started doing the math. He says Cross River now has four planes, maybe even five if you count that old one from Governor Imoke’s time. Five planes in total. “If the state is trying to compete with Akwa Ibom,” he said, “it is yet another misplacement of focus.” He shook his head. “Civilisation started in Calabar, but look at where we are now.”

He had questions. Tough ones.

Where’s the money from the other planes? The ones some other airline is managing for us? And he brought up an old ghost—an aircraft bought years ago under Senator Liyel Imoke whose whereabouts remain unclear.

He just couldn’t get over the timing. The government spent billions of naira on these “refurbished aircraft of uncertain condition” while regular folks can’t even get around. “This is happening in a state where there are no public buses and no motorable roads to move farm produce,” he said. It just dont make sense. “One of those aircrafts cost enough to fix many bad roads.”

He remembered the old days. The Crossline bus service. It worked. It was affordable. But now? Nothing.

This new plan is for the rich, he insisted, and it goes against the governor’s own “People First” slogan. “Most people cannot afford to fly in those aircrafts,” he said. But a good bus on a smooth road? That’s something everyone could use.