* IGR hit N46.3bn in 2024
Cross River State Governor, Senator Bassey Otu, Saturday, introduced his administration’s file of debt discount, asset restoration, infrastructure renewal and public service reforms as proof of progress below the People First Agenda, declaring {that a} second time period would propel the state from financial restoration to wealth creation and shared prosperity.
Otu made the declaration in Calabar, whereas inaugurating the Cross River State All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for the 2027 normal election.
He charged social gathering leaders and marketing campaign officers to take the administration’s achievements to the citizens, insisting that continuity was important to consolidating the foundations already laid for sustainable growth.
Reflecting on the circumstances surrounding his assumption of workplace in May 2023, the governor recalled that the state was grappling with insecurity, a demoralised public service and underutilised public property.
“We did not promise all things in one year, but we covenanted to stop the bleeding, clear the ground, recover the losses and restore abandonments,” he mentioned, describing the administration’s first part as certainly one of restoration and restoration.
On fiscal administration, Otu disclosed that his authorities had diminished the inherited home debt of greater than N204 billion by over N70 billion with out taking contemporary loans, bringing the excellent debt to roughly N132.3 billion as of March 2026.
He additionally disclosed that internally generated income elevated from N21.1 billion in 2022 to N46.3 billion in 2024.
“Every debt retired is freedom for our children and house-cleaning for fresh fiscal air,” he mentioned, including that improved income and monetary self-discipline would strengthen funding in public providers.
The governor recognized the restoration of strategic public property as one other main achievement, citing the reclamation of Tinapa from the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), the restoration of almost N1 billion from Etung Cocoa Estates and different public property, and ongoing efforts to reclaim the state’s oil wells and safe its pursuits within the Bakassi axis and proposed Deep Seaport.
He additionally highlighted enhancements in safety, the lifting of the employment embargo, the restoration of greater than 3,000 native authorities employees to the payroll and the cost of the primary tranche of gratuities after almost 20 years. “The government is not just concrete — it is the people,” he mentioned.
On infrastructure and financial revitalisation, Otu cited the reconstruction of the Obudu Cargo Airport runway, the revival of the Teachers Continuous Training Institute in Biase, the transformation of Akamkpa College into the University of Entrepreneurship and the concessioning of the Garment Factory and Obudu Ranch by means of public-private partnerships.
He additionally pointed to highway development and rehabilitation, elevated and expanded Cally Air fleet and operations, in addition to the rising financial influence of Carnival Calabar. “Continuity is an attitude of maturity,” he mentioned, arguing that finishing inherited initiatives and sustaining viable investments have been vital to the state’s progress.
Otu additionally highlighted agriculture and digital transformation as key drivers of future development, noting investments in cocoa, rice, potatoes, palm fruits and cassava to strengthen meals safety and rural livelihoods.
He mentioned greater than 200 kilometres of fibre infrastructure had been deployed throughout Calabar, over 600 residents had obtained ICT coaching, and digital platforms have been enhancing income assortment and public service supply.
He additional cited Cross River’s choice by the World Bank GovTech Team for its 2026 AI in Governance and Public Administration Bootcamp in Seoul, South Korea, as worldwide recognition of the state’s technological development.
Outlining his second-term priorities, the governor pledged to show recovered property into productive enterprises, full main infrastructure initiatives, develop youth and agricultural enterprise programmes, set up industrial parks throughout the three senatorial districts and enhance employees’ welfare.
Urging the marketing campaign council to interact voters throughout the state’s 18 native authorities areas and 196 wards with information and decorum, he mentioned: “You do not change a farmer who has cleared the farm just when it is time to plant. You do not abandon a builder who has laid the foundation when it is time to raise the roof.”
He formally inaugurated the council, declaring that the marketing campaign should be fought not for a person, however for the way forward for Cross River and its folks.
