Buhari, Ayade meet over Bakassi seaport

President Muhammadu Buhari on Tuesday met behind closed doors with the Cross River State Governor, Prof . Ben Ayade, in what is believed to be in continuation of talks over the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport and the 260 km superhighway .
The meeting, which reportedly lasted about 40 minutes , was held inside the President ’ s official residence at the Presidential Villa, Abuja .
Ayade had arrived for the meeting clutching some office files and heading straight to the President ’ s office from where he was driven to the residence .
Since the meeting was held inside the President ’ s office , the governor did not speak with State House correspondents .
The proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport and the 260 km superhighway are estimated to cost about N 700 bn.
Ayade had last year said the deep seaport had received the presidential nod .
“ Even in the face of several challenges and the fear that the project was impossible , the President has kept giving me proper encouragement and I am happy to acknowledge that , ” the governor had said during the official visit of the Managing Director of the Nigerian Ports Authority .
The Federal Government recently gave the state governor the approval to recruit a transaction advisor .
It had also constituted an advisory and implementation committee for the project .
Meanwhile , the Chairman of the Senate Committee on States and Local Government Affairs , Abdullahi Gumel , on Tuesday disclosed that the Federal Government spent N 300 m on development projects in Bakassi Local Government Area of Cross River State in 2016 .
Gumel , who led a team of National Assembly members on oversight visit to projects being executed by the Border Communities Development Agency on Tuesday , said contrary to widespread reports , the Federal Government had not abandoned the displaced people of Bakassi.
The team visited at least five projects in Ikang and neighbouring villages in Bakassi LGA .
The projects were three primary health - care centres ; one primary school , a border outpost for security agencies and open shops for traders .