Otu tasks traditional leaders on avoidable communal clashes

Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has called on traditional and opinion leaders of Yala Local Council in the state to foster healthier communal ties as a tool to end communal crises.

He also urged the leaders to work towards peaceful coexistence and good neighbourliness, especially with neighbouring communities.

The governor made the call when he received a delegation from Yala Council, led by their paramount ruler, Ogamode Clement Onah Ipuole, in Calabar.

Otu disclosed that his administration is set to explore the area’s huge agricultural potential, as well as reposition it to its once-reputed place as the food basket of the state.

According to Otu, his administration is committed to returning the renowned Okuku Market in Yala to a thriving local commodity hub of international standard. He assured the delegation that his administration would open up roads for easy transportation of goods from the interior communities to the urban areas and markets.

He added: “We want the cooperation of our traditional authorities to nib the avoidable records of communal clashes and other disputes in the bud.”

The governor noted that the state was carrying out proper reforms to make sure that agriculture is well positioned as the mainstay of the state’s economy.

He maintained that security and other structures that would entrench sanity in the area are being put in place.

Otu promised to carefully look at requests made by the delegation with the view of uplifting the living standard of Yala people, expressing optimism that soon, when the envisioned Okuku commodity market becomes a reality, the state government would make areas like Okpoma and Okuku urban towns as the agricultural potentials of the state.