The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River, Sir Arthur Javis Archibong, has alleged that the state government was deliberately and effectively encouraging and promoting “deep-rooted rural poverty.”

In a press briefing in Calabar, Thursday, Sir Archibong said the government lacks “programme aimed at addressing rural poverty in the state,” saying it was an “unmitigated tragedy,” that the Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, “has handed governance to the third party who lack capacity for competent decision making.”

Flanked by the Chairman of the party in the State, Barr Vena Ikem and other party stalwarts, the governorship hopeful said, “What has become more worrisome is that local governments that are legally and structurally designed to reduce rural poverty have been practically handcuffed and choked by a state government that recklessly ambushes their funds on a permanent basis.”

The Authur Jarvis University owner also accused the Governor of disconnecting himself from the people through incessant travels, adding “This is because the Governor is hardly in the state. Available, verifiable records show that there is no month the Governor spends more than ten (10) days in the state.

“Twenty days, at least, on a monthly basis, are spent either in Abuja and/or abroad with nothing whatsoever to show for this absence. The people therefore, do not have any interaction with the man who is supposed to be the harbinger of hope for their yearnings and aspirations.

“The clearest proof of this administration’s lack of capacity is its failure to deliver any signature project in almost four years.

“Instead, all focus has gone to the year-round renovation of structures inherited from past governments. As much as this act is commendable for the purpose of continuity, channeling all his strength into the renovation of past administrations’ projects, raises a fundamental question: was there any plan or vision for the state before the election?

“This is why, in almost four (4) years, apart from the refurbished library complex, the Governor’s office, the completed Local Government building, the abandoned cultural center renovation project and a few poorly executed roads that show a complete lack of supervision, there is nothing to point to. All these are happening at a time when federal allocation to the state has at least quadrupled,” he posited.

Archibong, who said he would serve only one term “which is the remainder of the tenure agreeable to Cross River South in this dispensation,” said he “would not be an absentee Governor,” and that he would “constantly traverse the different zones of our dear state in the search for and implementation of real development for our people.”