Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has declared that his administration will focus on wealth creation and economic prosperity in a second term, as he inaugurated the All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Otu said his first term had focused on stabilising the state, reducing inherited debts and reviving abandoned public assets, promising to build on the achievements in the next four years.
The governor spoke on Saturday in Calabar during the inauguration of the APC campaign council, where he charged members to embark on aggressive grassroots mobilisation and voter tracking to secure President Bola Tinubu's re-election.
He described his administration's next phase as a shift from recovery to prosperity, with plans to expand youth enterprise support, agriculture, tourism and industrial development.
“Phase one was recovery. Phase two is wealth creation and prosperity. First term was about clearing the bush and laying foundation. Second term will be about building house and filling it with prosperity,” he said.
Otu recalled inheriting domestic debts exceeding N204bn, saying his government had reduced the burden by more than N70bn without taking new loans.
He also said the state's internally generated revenue increased from N21.1bn in 2022 to N31.56bn in 2023 and N46bn in 2024.
The governor listed the recovery of Tinapa from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, the revival of the Calabar Rubber Estate and efforts to recover oil wells among the achievements of his administration.
He added that the government had restored more than 3,000 local government workers, lifted the employment embargo and paid the first tranche of gratuities after nearly two decades.
On infrastructure, Otu cited the completion of the Obudu Cargo Airport runway, the revival of the Teachers Training Institute in Biase and the transformation of the Akamkpa College of Education into a University of Entrepreneurship.
He also highlighted road projects, the revival of the Calabar Carnival and investments in digital infrastructure, including more than 200 kilometres of fibre-optic network.
The governor said his second-term agenda would align with Tinubu's Renewed Hope Agenda, particularly through projects such as the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport.
“Tinapa reclaimed must now become Tinapa productive. Our reclaimed oil wells must become revenue for scholarships, healthcare and export,” he said.
Defending Tinubu's economic policies, Otu argued that the country's economic difficulties predated the current administration, insisting that the President was addressing longstanding structural problems.
“Nobody should say Tinubu caused this. He has been in office for only three years. Problems are of decades,” he said.
He urged the campaign council members to sell the administration's achievements to voters through facts and verifiable projects rather than insults.
The state APC Chairman, Chris Etta, also charged members to prepare for the political contest by familiarising themselves with the policies and achievements of the Otu administration.
Etta said the party had concluded its internal congresses, primaries and reconciliation processes and was now preparing to face opposition parties.
He acknowledged the economic hardship facing Nigerians but urged APC members to explain the rationale behind the removal of petroleum and electricity subsidies.
“APC doesn't play politics with Nigeria's life. Recovery is on its way, macro-economy is turning up,” he said.
Etta listed the restoration of Cross River's oil-producing status, the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway and plans for the Bakassi Deep Seaport among the reasons the state should support Tinubu's re-election.
He urged party members to unite and mobilise voters across the state's 18 local government areas.
In separate goodwill messages, representatives of the three senatorial districts, Prof Eo Etim Nyong, Chief Chris Agara and Chief Peter Ojie, pledged support for the re-election of Tinubu, Otu and other APC candidates in 2027.
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