By BANNERNEWS Reporter, Calabar
The Territorial Archbishop of Calabar and Founding Patriarch of the Cross River State Christian Leaders Forum, Archbishop Josef Bassey, has endorsed Governor Bassey Edet Otu for a second term, declaring that the governor’s performance in his first three years has been “extraordinary.”
Bassey made the declaration during a world press conference in Calabar, where he assessed the condition of the state when Otu assumed office in May 2023 and the administration’s performance since then.
According to him, the state inherited by the Otu administration was in a deep crisis, with domestic debt standing at about N204 billion, accumulated pension gratuities, dilapidated public infrastructure, poor road networks and security challenges.
He said the government had, within three years, reduced domestic debt by about N72 billion to approximately N132 billion, increased internally generated revenue and worked on more than 608 kilometres of roads across the state.
The Archbishop also cited the return of regular flights to Calabar, the upgrading of 196 Primary Healthcare Centres and the revitalisation of another 96 centres, as well as the payment of pension gratuities up to 2015, as evidence of progress under the administration.
Bassey said one of the major achievements of the government was the recovery and rehabilitation of public assets, including the Governor’s Office, State Library, Cultural Centre, Cross River Broadcasting Corporation, Nigerian Chronicle complex and government lodges. He also noted the recovery of Tinapa Resort.
He described the efforts as “the courage and patriotism of recovery,” arguing that governments should not only focus on constructing new projects but must also preserve and restore public assets inherited from previous administrations.
On security, the cleric said Cross River had moved from a period when kidnapping, cult violence and fear were widespread to a situation where residents could move and conduct their businesses with greater confidence.
However, Bassey criticised some members of the Otu administration, saying some political appointees lacked the competence required for their positions. He urged the governor to make competence, character, capacity and performance the basis for appointments in the next phase of the administration.
He also challenged the government to move beyond counting projects and programmes to measuring their actual impact, particularly in areas such as youth employment, Tinapa, the proposed Bakassi Deep Seaport, agriculture, tourism and industrial development.
Bassey said the first three years of the Otu administration should be regarded as a period of rescue, recovery and repositioning, while the next phase should focus on production, investment, job creation and wealth generation. Declaring that “we have spent three years buying back our past,” he urged the government to now focus on building the future.
The Archbishop said his support for Otu was based on an assessment of evidence rather than partisan considerations. “My standard has not changed; the evidence has,” he stated, adding that Otu had “earned a second term.”
He argued that continuity was necessary to consolidate the gains already made, stressing that Cross River should not return to the situation where successive administrations spend years rebuilding neglected public assets.
Bassey further called for the protection of the state’s future through competent leadership, strong institutions, justice and accountability, while urging Cross Riverians to put the interest of the state above partisan considerations.
“Not for Otu. Not for APC. For Cross River,” he said, warning that the state should not “gamble with Government House” at a critical stage of its recovery.
