From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
Vice President Kashim Shettima, yesterday, applauded Governor Bassey Otu on his impressive investment in aviation and other critical sectors as he launched the third and fourth Cally Air Fleet.
Speaking at the Margaret Ekpo International Airport in Calabar, where he represented President Bola Tinubu, Shettima described the initiative as a strategic step toward economic growth, tourism promotion and regional aviation leadership.
He praised Otu’s vision, noting that Cross River’s efforts aligned with the Federal Government’s Renewed Hope Agenda in strengthening food security, energy security and economic self-reliance.
“Cross River is demonstrating what strong subnational leadership looks like. The country needs more of this kind of vision,” Shettima said.
Governor Otu traced the state’s economic strategy to the integration of three “engines” set in motion by his predecessors: tourism under Donald Duke, rural development under Senator Liyel Imoke and industrialisation under Professor Ben Ayade.
“My goal has been to fuse these into a robust, diversified economy that frees us from over-dependence on FAAC allocations,” he explained.
He said the expansion of Cally Air from two to four aircraft, with three more planned, was a key plank of the state’s tourism policy and its ambition to create an aviation hub serving not just Nigeria but the entire Gulf of Guinea.
The event also formed part of the Vice President’s working visit to Cross River, which included stops at the state SME clinic and library.
With the commissioning of the two new aircraft, the state is positioning itself as both a tourism powerhouse and a regional aviation gateway.
He also emphasised that his administration had keyed into the Renewed Hope Agenda and planned to ensure Cross River emerges as a strong sub-national that would contribute to Nigeria’s economic development.
Shettima also commissioned the remodelled Cross River State Library and flagged off an MSME clinic in the course of his visit to the state.
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