The streets of Calabar came alive on Saturday as fitness enthusiasts, corporate partners and residents trooped out for the 7th edition of the Calabar Walkathon, organized by the Healthy Billionaires Fitness Club, with the theme “A Walk for Unity and Sustainable Development.”

Declaring the event open, Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, represented by the Secretary to the State Government, Prof. Anthony Owan Enoh, said the theme was timely as the nation heads into an election year.

“In our seventh edition, and of course this seventh edition is for unity and sustainable development. We need to sustain the dividends of what this administration is doing, and we can all do this together,” the SSG said.

He commended the organizers for sustaining the initiative since 2020 and thanked partners including Zenith Bank, Migu Technologies, Keith FF and other fitness clubs who have supported the Walkathon from inception.

“This activity is growing bigger and bigger. I want to thank all our partners, all fitness clubs who join us to do this activity,” he added.

Chairman of the Planning Committee for this year’s edition, Mr. Samuel Usoro, said the annual walkathon is designed as a platform for public enlightenment and civic advocacy. This year’s focus centers on promoting local unity, driving discussions around sustainable development, and fostering collective social responsibility across Cross River State

He said the club deliberately chose unity as its advocacy cause because of the divisive tendencies that often characterize election seasons.

“What we try to achieve is to fuse exercise, sports and walking into advocacy for a cause. The cause we picked this year is unity. It’s an election year. People will be divided in terms of political affiliations, religious affiliations, tribe and sometimes it gets very messy,” Usoro said.

“What we’re trying to say to Nigerians, Cross Riverians and Africans at large is we are one. We all believe the same. We all feel the same way. Let us come together and ask for sustainable development from whoever is responsible — public sector, private sector and ourselves individually.”

Usoro said the 2026 walk recorded massive turnout and covered about 12 kilome along the Carnival route, with participants logging over 21,000 steps. He said walking the Carnival route was intentional — to promote the Carnival Calabar and serve as an unofficial dry run ahead of the December festival.

“It was a success. We had partners, support. We had so many people come out and the turnout as you can see is massive. We are grateful to our sponsors and we say thank you, especially you the journalists. It is in your court to amplify. Let us preach unity and stop the divide,” he said.

Speaking on the lifestyle of an average Cross Riverian, Usoro said the culture is laid back and needs a fitness re-orientation.

“They say Calabarians come and live and be at rest. You might be going to work by 8 o’clock and you see people drinking four bottles of beer. Walking is the easiest form of exercise. They say your leg is your second heart. When you walk with your leg, your heart pumps better,” he said.

“If you keep this kind of lifestyle, it’s good for your health, your body and good for your general economy. If you can see around, after the walk there’s a buzz of activity which adds value to the state.”

The Assistant Secretary of the Healthy Billionaires Fitness Club, Hope Obeten said the club, founded in 2020 during COVID-19, has grown beyond fitness to social impact.

“Over the years as a club we work on different causes. We started during the COVID year as a way of bringing the whole Calabar community together for a cause. We are health-focused. We focus on healthy living,” he said.

He listed the club’s interventions to include payment of medical bills for indigent patients, visits to motherless homes and medical outreaches in communities beyond Calabar.

He added that the choice of the carnival route for the 7th edition was strategic: “This is almost like the first unofficial dry run because we open the route before the carnival.”

The organizers used the platform to preach peace ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“We are a peaceful people. We’ve never been known for violence. No matter the situation let’s go into the election year peacefully. There should be no bloodshed, no fighting. After the election, don’t be pessimistic. Just like our national anthem says, though tribe and tongue may differ, in brotherhood we stand,” the club leadership said.

The 7th Calabar Walkathon ended with aerobics, health talks and networking among participants, with sponsors and fitness clubs pledging continued support for subsequent editions.