Stakeholders from the five Local Government Areas of Cross River State’s Northern Senatorial District have backed Governor Bassey Otu’s bid for a second term and called for bloc votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
The position was made known during an engagement at the Ogoja Local Government Council Headquarters at the weekend, following a sensitisation walk from Ajengnle Junction to the council headquarters. The event brought together political leaders, traditional rulers, youths, women and other stakeholders from Ogoja, Obanliku, Obudu, Yala and Bekwarra Local Government Areas.
Key Highlights
- Northern Cross River stakeholders backed Governor Bassey Otu’s second-term bid.
- Stakeholders called for bloc votes for President Bola Tinubu in the 2027 elections.
- The engagement involved representatives from five LGAs in the Northern Senatorial District.
- APC leaders called for intensified grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 elections.
- Stakeholders urged the government to complete ongoing projects and address development needs across the district.
Chairman of the Elders Advisory Council, Chief Clement Ebri, said the tour, organised by the Cross River State Consultative Forum, provided an opportunity for the Elders Advisory Council and the Consultative Forum to obtain first-hand information from residents about 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 Governor Otu had asked the council to give him good advice and was willing to make amends where genuine lapses were identified.
He urged residents to remain patient with the administration as it tackles infrastructure deficits and other challenges accumulated over the years. He also commended Otu’s efforts to restore Cross River’s oil-producing status.
On the 2027 elections, Ebri urged the Northern Senatorial District to mobilise support for both Otu and Tinubu and ensure that their votes counted. He said 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. He thanked the people for what he described as their consistent support for Governor Otu.
Ekpo stressed that the gathering was not a campaign rally but an opportunity for stakeholders from the five LGAs to deliberate on the future of Cross River State.
He said the response from the stakeholders represented support for Otu’s second-term bid and urged them to sustain mobilisation for the Governor and President Tinubu ahead of 2027. He also called for fact-based assessment of government performance and peaceful political engagement.
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The State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Rt. Hon. Chris Etta, represented by his deputy, Rt. Hon. Ugana Lukpata, commended the stakeholders for their commitment 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.
He also highlighted ongoing projects across the Northern Senatorial District and linked the restoration of Cross River’s oil-producing status to the improved relationship between the state and Federal Government.
Etta said the state now had 46 oil wells in its coffers, with exploration and exploitation already commenced. He added 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. It also affirmed the stakeholders’ support for 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.
They also reaffirmed support for Tinubu, Otu and other APC candidates at the national, state and local government levels.
The communiqué was unanimously adopted and signed by the Forum’s Chairman, Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo; Secretary, Dr Julius Okputu; Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Ntufam (Barr.) Fidelis Ugbo; and Secretary, Prof. Michael Okom.
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