The Cross River State Government has finalised plans to take over the dilapidated bungalow currently housing the National Population Commission, NPC, in Calabar.
The structure, located in the heart of the state capital, sits beside the UJ Esuene Stadium hotel and directly opposite the State Library.
Last week, the state governor and his officials rose from their weekly cabinet meeting and announced that they would move NPC out of its present location to enable the expansion of the stadium hotel complex.
The communiqué, signed by the state Commissioner for Information, Dr Erasmus Ekpang, said, “Exco has approved the sum of N125,000,000 to facilitate the purchase of a permanent office accommodation for NPC in the State. This will pave the way for the realisation of the Calabar Sports Hotel and Resort at the Commission present location.”;
To assuage NPC’s accommodation challenge, the state governor, Senator Bassey Otu, donated an office complex.
The Federal Commissioner representing Cross River State at the commission, Barrister Alex Ukam, confirmed that the new office complex is worth well over N500 million.
He disclosed this when the commission organised a public conference and advocacy campaign to raise consciousness about their activities and the need to register births and deaths.
Ukam said, “I have to thank the President, Alhaji Bola Tinubu for all the support he is giving to us in Cross River. I particularly commend Gov Bassey Otu for giving us a brand new office complex worth over N500m.
“By the time we will have another interaction, it will be in our new and comfortable office complex. We are grateful to the state government for their support.”;
It will be recalled that when Ukam resumed nearly a year ago, his initial task was to embark on massive refurbishment of the commission’s current dilapidated office.
He had said the building was not befitting, compared to the commission’s offices in other states.
According to him, the state government has been very supportive.
