Ayade Commissions CAN Secretariat, Receives Award

EMMANUEL ULAYI

The Executive Governor of Cross River State, Prof Ben Ayade, has commissioned the newly acquired Secretariat of the State branch of Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) in Calabar.

It would be recalled that Governor Ayade had sometime last year made a donation of N30 million Naira to the State CAN.

An elated Governor Ayade said that the association had contributed greatly towards the development and religious teachings in the state.

In his words:” his second term victory received a boost from the association in the state during the electioneering, and that the association was at the fore front of championing peaceful, free and fair polls in the state.

To this end, he assured the association on his earlier promise that he will sponsor 300 pilgrims to Jerusalem for their holy mission in the 2019 phase of the exercise.

The Governor, who received an award as `Friend of CAN’, promised to redeem his pledge to CAN of donating five plots of land, a 32-seater bus and a Sport Utility Vehicle to the association in the state.

According to him, “It is my honour to be part of this event to commission this Secretariat. CAN have contributed a lot to the development of this state.

“In view of that, CAN should be ready with a list of political appointments in my second term. I wish to call on the association to join hands with me in industrialising the state for economic growth.

“My first term appointments were food on the table, but my second term will be hands on the plough because every appointee must bring on board ideas that will move the state forward’’ he said.

Earlier in his presentation, Chairman of CAN in the state, Archbishop Joseph Ukpo, said that CAN is the largest ecumenical body in Nigeria which came into existence in 1976, adding that the state chapter had been without a secretariat for many years.

Ukpo said that through the benevolence of the state Governor, the commissioning of the state secretariat marks a milestone in the progress and development of CAN in the state.

“As an association, we can achieve greater things together when we prioritise the common good of the association and strive to make sacrifices for the development of this ecumenical body’’ he said.

The Archbishop appealed to the Governor to redeem the pledge made to the association in other to help them plan on the 2019 Christian pilgrimage, the plots of land and the vehicles to ease their activities in the state.

Also speaking, the Special Adviser to Ayade on Religious Affairs, Rev. Fr. Bob Etta, thanked the Governor for all his support to the association in the state.

Etta assured Ayade that the Christian community will continue to pray for the smooth running of his administration for the growth and development of the state.