The Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has said that he will spend the sum of N5 billion to renovate the state governor’s office in Calabar, the state capital to befit his status.
Governor Otu made this known on Friday, September 15, 2023, during an interaction session with journalists in the state, saying that governor’s office ought to be the signpost in the state.
The governor said he would also renovate all the state liaison offices in Abuja, Lagos, and elsewhere to similarly carry the same signpost insignia, stressing that the governor’s office was not befitting when he took over power and that renovating it to a befitting standard would help to appeal to investors willing to do business with the state.
“I will not stop spending money to make the governor’s office very befitting. It ought to be the signpost of the state. I will do the same in all our liaison offices.
“It’s when you make your abode or office befitting that will add value and appeal to investors. Filthy environments and poor architectural outlook can discourage.
“The renovations will be done with transparency. It is estimated that the costs of the renovations will be between N3 to N5 billion. But for now the contractors are working pro bono,”
This comes amid the economic hardship facing Nigerians occasioned by fuel subsidy removal and rising inflation.
It was reported earlier that Nigeria’s inflation surged to 25.80% for the eighth time in 2023 as food prices soared across the country.
This is according to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) report for August 2023 by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) released on Friday, September 15, 2023.
According to the NBS, the 25.80% surge in the month of August 2023, is 1.72% points higher than the 24.08% recorded in the previous month.
The Food inflation rate jumped to 29.34% in August 2023, representing a 2.35% point increase from 26.98% recorded in the previous month and 6.22% points higher than 23.12% recorded in the corresponding period of 2022.
On a month-on-month basis, the Food inflation rate in August 2023 was 3.87%, this was 0.41% points higher compared to the rate recorded in July 2023 (3.45%).
The average annual rate of Food inflation for the twelve months ending August 2023 over the previous twelve-month average was 25.01%, which was a 5.99% points increase from the average annual rate of change recorded in August 2022 (19.02%).
The rise in Food inflation on a year-on-year basis was caused by increases in prices of Oil and fat, Bread and cereals, Fish, Fruit, Meat, Vegetables and Potatoes, Yam and other Tubers, Vegetable, Milk, Cheese and Eggs.
