Barely a month after he received members of the upper bench on a courtesy visit to his office with a promise for official vehicles, Cross River State Governor, Prince Bassey Otu, has presented brand new ford Edge vehicles to Senior Justices in the state.
Otu who made the presentation, Wednesday, in Calabar lamented the untold hardship the senior benchers have been exposed to over the years and assured them of rewriting the wrongs to make that arm of government more vibrant.
“Few weeks ago when my Lord the Chief Judge led a team of upper benchers to my office, the issue of transportation was mentioned to me, alongside a plethora of other problems that are inherent in the judiciary, I am glad and bold today to say that the season of sweetness has started with the Judiciary at this moment.
“I do so because this is an important arm of government that we should not joke with, In any society where there is no justice, such society cannot move forward and Investment cannot thrive where people don’t trust the justice system.
“This particular arm of government is one my administration will take special interest on because we are bringing investors across the globe to invest in our economy and for them to have the confident of investing here, we must demonstrate to them that there is a just and fair society where if rules are breached, punishment follows immediately.
“Once they understand the existence of this equality before the law and that justice can be dispensed without any fear or favour, then you can be rest assured that economy will thrive,” the governor said.
Otu also informed of his plans to embark on a working tour of all Courts across the state with the view to carryout comprehensive renovation and upgrading of facilities in line with current realities.
On the physical decay observed in other institutions of government, the Governor assured that, “We are gradually looking into the fabrics of the service and will tackle the challenges confronting other institutions of government based on our financial power.
Earlier, the Chief Judge of Cross River State, Justice Akon Ikpeme, decried the hardship judges have gone through over the years, describing Otu as a perfect gentleman and promised keeper.
Ikpeme said the Judges have been using their cars to discharge their day-to-day assignment, admitting that this gesture will go a long way to check their transportation challenges.
A beneficiary, Justice Edem Koofreh, thanked Governor Otu, for the gesture and promised that his team would make judicious use of the official vehicles afforded them.
The ceremony was witnessed by the Speaker of the State Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Eyambem, Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan-Enoh, Chief of Staff, Rt. Hon. Emmanuel Ironbar, Head of Service, Dr. Timothy Akwaji amongst other functionaries of government.
