By Akpan David, Calabar
Stakeholders from the five Local Government Areas of Cross River State’s Northern Senatorial District have validated Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s bid for a second term, reaffirming their support for his administration and calling for bloc votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
The engagement, held at the Ogoja Local Government Council Headquarters, was preceded by a sensitisation walk from Ajengnle Junction to the council headquarters, drawing political leaders, traditional rulers, youths, women and other stakeholders from Ogoja, Obanliku, Obudu, Yala and Bekwarra LGAs.
Chairman of the Elders Advisory Council, Chief Clement Ebri, said the tour, organised by the Cross River State Consultative Forum, provided an opportunity for both the Elders Advisory Council and the Consultative Forum to obtain first-hand information from the people on their assessment of the Otu administration.
Ebri, a former Governor of the state, described the exercise as primarily fact-finding, saying the team would also engage stakeholders privately to hear concerns that might not be expressed publicly before briefing Governor Otu on the people’s views. “We are more like a fact-finding team,” he said, adding that the Governor had asked the council to give him good advice and was willing to make amends where genuine lapses were identified.
He urged the people to remain patient with the administration as it tackles infrastructure deficits and other challenges accumulated over the years, while commending Otu’s efforts to restore Cross River’s oil-producing status.
On the 2027 elections, Ebri urged the Northern Senatorial District to mobilise for both Otu and Tinubu and ensure that their votes counted, stressing that the state needed to give the President a strong bloc vote to strengthen the Governor’s recognition and bargaining power at the national level.
Chairman of the Consultative Forum, Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, said the Ogoja engagement was the Forum’s first outing in the Northern Senatorial District and thanked the people for their consistent support for the Governor. He stressed that the gathering was not a campaign rally but an opportunity for stakeholders from the five LGAs to deliberate on the future of the state.
Ekpo said the response from the stakeholders represented a strong endorsement of Otu’s second-term bid, urging them to sustain the mobilisation for the Governor and President Tinubu ahead of 2027. He also called for fact-based assessment of government performance and peaceful political engagement.
The State Chairman of the APC, Rt. Hon. Chris Etta, presented by his Deputy Chairman, Rt. Hon. Ugana Lukpata, commended the stakeholders for their commitments and called for intensified grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections. Etta said the party must mobilise both members and non-members, declaring that “we cannot record anything below five over five” in support of APC candidates.
Etta also highlighted ongoing projects across the Northern Senatorial District, linking the restoration of Cross River’s oil-producing status to the improved relationship between the state and Federal Government. He said the state now had 46 oil wells in its coffers, with exploration and exploitation already commenced, adding that continued support for Otu and Tinubu would help sustain the gains.
The communiqué issued at the end of the engagement acknowledged ongoing projects and other interventions under the Otu administration, affirmed stakeholders’ support for the President and Governor’s continuity and called for the completion of ongoing projects and sustained attention to development needs across the district.
The stakeholders further resolved to intensify grassroots mobilisation, sustain peaceful political engagement and continue consultations with communities and political stakeholders, while reaffirming support for Tinubu, Otu and other APC candidates at the national, state and local levels. The communiqué was unanimously adopted and signed by the Forum’s Chairman , Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo; Secretary of the Forum Dr Julius Okputu; Chairman of the Drafting Committee Ntufam (Barr.) Fidelis Ugbo and Secretary Prof. Michael Okom.
