The President of the African Development Bank (AfDB), Dr. Akinwumi Adesina, has pledged substantial investment support for Cross River State’s health and agriculture sectors.
 
Speaking during a state banquet organised in his honour, Adesina outlined bold plans to support primary healthcare delivery in addition to investments they are already promoting in the state with the launch of the Special Agro Processing Zone project.
  
He commended the leadership qualities of the Governor, Bassey Otu, noting that he is indeed a “passionate, action-driven, and accountable leader, doing so much in infrastructure.” 
 
According to Adesina, with what Otu has done in partnership with Afrixem Bank for the Bakassi Deep Seaport project, Cross River will soon be a very important logistics and industrial processing hub beyond Nigeria, covering the entire West Africa and the Gulf of Guinea.
  
On healthcare, he pledged to support the governor’s efforts in the revitalisation of primary health centres and the state health insurance initiative.  He said, “We will help ensure that primary healthcare centres are not only revitalised but connected digitally to enable seamless access and portability of health records.”

He also advocated for the adoption of a sustainable franchise-based business model for healthcare delivery, designed to improve nationwide access and quality.
    
Adesina expressed excitement over the launch of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing Zones (SAPZ) in Cross River, describing the project as a game-changer for the state’s economy. 
    
In his remarks, Otu reaffirmed his administration’s focus on driving economic independence and reducing overdependence on federal allocations. He outlined three strategic pillars to include security, food security, and energy security as central to unlocking sustainable development in the state.