Stakeholders from the five local government areas of Cross River State’s Northern Senatorial District have endorsed Governor Bassey Edet Otu for a second term and called for bloc votes for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the governor in the 2027 elections.

The stakeholders made the call at the weekend during a consultative engagement held at the Ogoja Local Government Council headquarters, which brought together political leaders, traditional rulers, women, youths and other stakeholders from Ogoja, Obanliku, Obudu, Yala and Bekwarra councils.

The meeting, organised by the Cross River State Consultative Forum, followed a sensitisation walk from Ajengnle Junction to the council headquarters.

Chairman of the Elders Advisory Council and former governor of the state, Chief Clement Ebri, said the exercise was primarily aimed at obtaining first-hand information on the people’s assessment of the Otu administration.

Ebri said the team would also hold private consultations with stakeholders to enable them express concerns that might not be raised publicly, stressing that the findings would be presented to the governor for necessary action.

“We are more like a fact-finding team,” he said, adding that Otu had asked the council to offer constructive advice and was willing to correct genuine lapses in his administration.

He urged the people to remain patient with the administration as it tackled infrastructure deficits inherited from previous administrations, while commending efforts to restore Cross River’s oil-producing status.

On the 2027 elections, Ebri urged the people of the Northern Senatorial District to mobilise for both Otu and Tinubu, stressing that a strong bloc vote for the President would strengthen the governor’s recognition and bargaining power at the national level.

Chairman of the Consultative Forum, Barr. Eyo Nsa Ekpo, said the Ogoja meeting was the forum’s first engagement in the Northern Senatorial District and was not a campaign rally, but a platform for stakeholders to discuss the future of the state.

Ekpo said the response from the five LGAs amounted to a strong endorsement of Otu’s second-term bid, urging stakeholders to sustain grassroots mobilisation for the governor and Tinubu while assessing government performance based on facts.

State Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Rt. Hon. Chris Etta, represented by his deputy, Rt. Hon. Ugana Lukpata, called for intensified mobilisation ahead of the elections, saying the party must reach both members and non-members at the grassroots.

Etta declared that the APC must not record anything below “five over five” in support of its candidates, while linking the restoration of Cross River’s oil-producing status to the improved relationship between the state and Federal Government.

He said Cross River now had 46 oil wells, with exploration and exploitation activities already commenced, and urged continued support for Otu and Tinubu to sustain the gains.

In a communiqué adopted at the end of the meeting, the stakeholders acknowledged ongoing projects and interventions by the Otu administration and reaffirmed their support for Tinubu, Otu and other APC candidates at the national, state and local government levels.

They also called for the completion of ongoing projects, sustained attention to development needs across the Northern Senatorial District and continued grassroots consultations and peaceful political engagement ahead of the 2027 elections.

The communiqué was signed by Ekpo; Secretary of the Forum, Dr Julius Okputu; Chairman of the Drafting Committee, Ntufam (Barr.) Fidelis Ugbo; and Secretary, Prof. Michael Okom.