Cross River State Governor, Bassey Otu, has signed a partnership agreement with Pana Holdings to unlock the state’s vast gas and solid minerals deposits to drive industrialisation, job creation, and sustainable economic growth.
 
The agreement, signed in the State Executive Council Chamber in Calabar, is designed to position Cross River as a regional hub for energy, mining, and industrial development through public-private partnerships.
 
In his remarks, Otu said the partnership reflects his administration’s resolve to harness the state’s abundant natural resources in a sustainable way to close developmental gaps and ensure prosperity for the people.

“Government alone cannot deliver development. There has to be strong private sector participation, and this pact is one of the bold steps we are taking to ensure energy security, food security, and a more productive economy,” Otu stated.

The governor expressed appreciation to President Bola Tinubu for providing the enabling policy environment under the Renewed Hope Agenda, which he described as a courageous departure from years of “freeloading” that weakened the nation’s economy. He assured Pana Holdings and other prospective investors of a peaceful, business-friendly environment in the state.
 
The governor, while endorsing the partnership, pledged his government’s full cooperation to ensure implementation, stressing that transparency, accountability, and visible outcomes will remain the guiding principles of the pact.
 
In a presentation titled: ‘Unlocking Cross River State’s Gas & Solid Minerals Potential’, the Group Chief Executive Officer of Pana Holdings, Dr Daere Akobo, revealed that Cross River State holds two of Nigeria’s greatest untapped opportunities, vast gas reserves estimated at 35 trillion cubic feet (TCF) and rich deposits of solid minerals, including limestone, barite, gold, granite, quartz, manganese, and rare earth metals, such as cerium and lanthanum.