2027 election: Cross River governor Otu inaugurates APC marketing campaign council, speaks on N70bn inherited debt

Governor Bassey Otu has inaugurated the Cross River state All Progressives Congress (APC) Campaign Council for the 2027 basic elections, submitting that debt discount, asset restoration, infrastructure renewal and public service reforms have been evidences of progress underneath his People First Agenda,

Speaking, weekend, throughout the inauguration, Otu insisted that continuity was important to consolidating the foundations already laid for sustainable growth and {that a} second time period would propel the State from financial restoration to wealth creation and shared prosperity.

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 stated, describing the administration’s first part as certainly one of restoration and restoration.

On fiscal administration, Otu disclosed that his authorities had lowered the inherited home debt of greater than ₦204 billion by over ₦70 billion with out taking contemporary loans, bringing the excellent debt to roughly ₦132.3 billion as of March 2026.

He additionally disclosed that internally generated income elevated from ₦21.1 billion in 2022 to ₦46.3 billion in 2024.

“Every debt retired is freedom for our children and house-cleaning for fresh fiscal air,” he stated, including that improved income and monetary self-discipline would strengthen funding in public companies.

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 ₦1 billion from Etung Cocoa Estates and different public property.

He additionally make clear the continuing efforts to reclaim the state’s oil wells and safe its pursuits within the Bakassi axis and proposed Deep Seaport, and subsequently charged get together loyalists, appointees and different authorities officers to take his administration’s achievements to the voters.