By Frank Ulom
CALABAR (CONVERSEER) – A former Special Adviser to the immediate-past Governor of Cross River State on Cocoa Development and Control, Dr Oscar Ofuka, has said the proposed Ogoja State is economically viable and can be sustained through cocoa production and its value chain.
Ofuka made the remarks on Saturday while speaking with Leadership at the venue of the House of Representatives Committee on Constitutional Amendment public hearing in Calabar.
He asserted that the proposed state, which comprises the old Ogoja Province, possesses the agricultural and natural resources needed to function independently if granted statehood.
“The most qualified state to be created is the Ogoja State because it’s a province that was not made a state,” Ofuka said.
Adding, “The Ogoja Province has all it takes to sustain itself. It has abundant natural and agricultural resources like cocoa which is an international crop.”
The former aide to ex-Governor Ben Ayade noted that the ecological composition of the central and northern parts of the state, which make up the proposed Ogoja State, is highly favourable to cocoa cultivation.
According to him, deliberate efforts were made during the last administration to boost cocoa development, including the distribution of cocoa seedlings across the state’s three senatorial districts, with significant emphasis on the northern region.
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“Some of these seedlings have grown to plantations and are already yielding resources,” he disclosed, adding that the ongoing cocoa development initiative is already contributing to local economies.
Ofuka stressed that with a well-structured cocoa value chain, the proposed Ogoja State can thrive with minimal reliance on monthly allocations from the federation account.
“If the creation of Ogoja State scales through the constitutional process, it will become one of the most qualified and economically viable states in Nigeria,” he affirmed.
