CSO Seeks Dualisation Of Calabar, Ikom Mfum-Ekok Road

Civil Society Legislative Advocacy Centre (CISLAC) has called on the federal government to dualise the Calabar-Ikom – Mfum-Ekok Road for easy movement of people and transportation of goods and services.

The civil society organisation also advocated the dismantling of 48 roadblocks serving as obstacles that discourage ease of doing business along the Mfum-Ekok-Cameroon border town connecting Nigeria and Cameroon to encourage transborder trade.

CISLAC executive director, Auwal Raphsanjani, made the advocacy yesterday while answering questions from LEADERSHIP Sunday shortly after a paper presentation on the Sub-national Implementation of Business Facilitation Act, 2022 and the development of a formal cross-border trading ecosystem for Nigeria in Cross River State.

“We were able to get to Mfum and the Cameroon borders where we noticed the challenges. When we saw about 48 checkpoints/ stop and search points which also hinder ease of movement.

“The access road was also a challenge because we saw tankers that fell on the road. It is dangerous to the communities.

“If these roads are well dualised, it could enable ease of doing business. So, we are here to ensure that the government and other stakeholders bring resources together so that trading within the corridor is improved.

A communication specialist, Ayo Omowu who represented the executive director of CISLAC said, “We are glad to be here. CISLAC, with support from Oxfam, has been facilitating and building capacity for this project to ensure that trans-African trade is improved and also for the ease of doing business.

“Our role as CISLAC is to bring both the state actors and the stakeholders that are involved in ensuring the ease of doing business in the corridor of Cross River State. This is done with the support of the Cross River State governor.

“With support from the World Bank and Oxfam in Nigeria, we have been able to have a pre-dialogue event at the National Ports Authority and we saw what the challenges are.

“We also discussed how we can bring the federal government and other key stakeholders to ensure that fescue is used on seaports to increase trading in Cross River State.”

The executive director stressed that one of the objectives of the engagement is to acquaint relevant state and non-state actors with the intentions of this initiative and secure their buy-in and contributions towards the adoption and adaptation of the Business Facilitation (miscellaneous provisions) Act in Cross River State.

Earlier, Cross River State commissioner for Commerce, Abigail Duke, who represented Governor Bassey Otu, assured that the state government would do everything within its power to ensure that decisions reached at the event were not swept under the carpet.