Otuekong Barr Ekpenyong Akiba is the Special Adviser to Gov Bassey Otu on General Duties. In this interview, he speaks on reasons Cross River people celebrating the 67th Birthday of the Governor and other issues, including the chances of the APC in the 2027 polls. Excerpts.
Cross Riverians are rolling out drums to celebrate the 67th Birthday of Governor Bassey Otu. Why such elaborate celebration?
It may be elaborate in your eyes but to the people, the governor’s birth has brought something meaningful to their lives and Cross River state.
His excellency is a complete character, a complete personality, a complete leader, a distinguished administrator, an accomplished political juggernaut. He is a man of God, a maker of men, a father, a unifier, a kind-hearted person who believes in live and let’s live; a man who believes in equality, a man who believes in fairness, a man who supports natural justice, a man who is happy to see the people happy, a man who understands that our existence as humans is vanity, a man who understands the need to share whatever has been given to him by God.
Such a man is worthy of celebration. A man that has lifted so many deliberately, intentionally and consciously. He identifies young people, train them through education, guide them through employment, give them resources to even build their shelter.
I mean total upliftment. For instance, myself and many of our colleagues who the Governor had impacted through education. Not just University education, other studies and professional courses as well. Some of my colleagues did medicine, I did law. The Governor went ahead and empowered them, some of them were given employment in Customs and Immigration and other federal government establishments.
The Governor has caused some of people to have international exposures, he has trained pilots and impacted lives in other endeavours
In governance, he has decided to plough his energy into recoveries, into rehabilitation, into restoration, into reformation, into reconstruction. For me, that’s because he doesn’t want any investment and resources to be wasted. He doesn’t also want our infrastructure to decay. That is why today, investment in properties that have been dormant long before us have been brought back to life.
For these past three years, can the Governor truly be said to have met the expectation of the people?
Yes, he has but let me say that no administration can be judged within three years. This is because three years is a formation and building period. It is a foundational period. Three years can be said to be a creative moment.
I say so because, for instance if you want to invest in agriculture, you do not plant today and harvest tomorrow. You need to grow your seed pragmatically; You need to nurture it. You need to guide the farm from attack by pests and by humans and other natural factors. And that requires time.
Even in governance, we need such time too. But, let me say this without being boastful, What His Excellency has achieved within this short is above expectation. Take for example, security.
There is no price for security and peace. Security is priceless. That you can sleep with your two eyes closed and wake up without any form of attack in Calabar, in Boki, in Bakassi, in Anantigha, in Odukpani, in Ugep and other places across our State is worthy of celebration.
Even if I should say that all of our resources have been plugged in the direction of achieving peace and security. Isn’t it worthy of commendation? The Governor has reclaimed Cross River in terms of peace and progress. Where there is peace, there is progress.
I call on Cross Riverans to join me in celebrating our Governor for taking us to the Eldorado and making Cross River a focus on the national scene. In terms of infrastructure, our Governor has excelled. As we speak, raods are being constructed and some rehabilitated across the State. Some roads like the Tinapa/Odukpani road which was abandoned for over 30 years have received attention. His agricultural intervention can be linked and likened to the days of late Michael Okpara
Is such a man not worthy of celebration? Even his enemies have testified that His Excellency is taking the bull by the horns. This celebration is a means of encouraging him to do more. It is a means of acknowledging that we are witnessing a real change, we are appreciative of his enormous sacrifices. It takes a sacrificial leader to achieve these milestones.
It takes a man with a big heart for his people to reject bribes, to reject offers, to reject self-aggrandizement, to reject self-inducement, to reject embezzlement, to reject wealth accumulation. It takes the sacrificial leader, which he is.
So, I wish His Excellency a purposeful, a prosperous, a rewarding, a resounding happy birthday. And, I pray for God’s blessing, not just to him, but to his lovely and supportive wife, his beautiful family, to all his appointees, his supporters and followers. Not just in Cross River State, but all over.
Penultimate week, the Senate President, Senator Godswill Obot Akpabio said Cross River is not a littoral State This means the State is not benefitting from the 13 percent derivation as others How does your government get resources for all the reported achievements?
I do not actually intend to join issues with our Senate President, but let me say that it is unfortunate that some highly placed persons talk like kindergarten.
Senator Akpabio is a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic, former Governor, former Minister of the Federal Republic. He is not just a distinguished Senator, he is a Senate President, the number one Senator in Nigeria.
When someone speaks like that, it means something is wrong somewhere. I was shocked when he was also quoted to have said that 40 percent of Cross Riverians are people from Akwa Ibom. I wonder where he got such statistics from.
We, Cross Riverians, in our accommodative and hospitality nature, in our brotherhood history, have continually accommodated Akwa Ibomites. That does not mean that Cross Riverians are Akwa Ibomites. That does also mean that those Akwa Ibomites, who are in Cross River, that travel to Akwa Ibom for one thing or the other, are now the owners of Cross River. No, it’s fallacious, it’s rebuttable, it’s completely rejected.
For the Senate President to engage in such rhetoric is infantile. And we condemn it in totality. We call on him to retract such words as a distinguished Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. I think he should preach unity instead of making such derogatory remarks that could cause division.
We should preach togetherness. We should preach oneness. Cross River and Akwa Ibom states can be said to be Siamese twins that are inseparable, historically, culturally, traditionally, and even language-wise.
Akpabio himself lived and schooled in Cross River. We groom him to be what he is today. Is he not supposed to be grateful? If he has too many oil wells and Cross River does not have any, is he not supposed to say, my brothers, please take some?
So, for me, it’s ingratitude and greed in display. It is a bad brother who seeks yo grab everything a father has without sharing with his sibblings. It’s an anomaly for a child to watch his starve. It even attracts a curse.
We know that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, are formidable opponents in the forthcoming election both at the national and State levels. What are the chances of your political party, the All Progressives Congress, APC, in 2027
All what we are seeing are mirage. They are not in existence. For instance, the PDP, you are aware, have two factions. You know them. They are all struggling for peanuts from the center.
I challenge Dr. Jarvis Archibong to present his manifesto. What is he coming to do in government? Dr. Jarvis, come and tell us what you would do differently. As you know, we are not considering that you are running for government. I know. A leadership position is not a training ground. You must have been well-groomed and trained, both in learning and in character, and experience, and exposure to be able to step into the office of the governor.
The office of the governor entails a lot of professionalism. It entails a lot of connection, interaction, competence, and what have you. So, for me, we all have to stand up for what is realizable, what is achievable, what is real, what is viable and not what is vague. No PDP or NDC governorship candidate constitute a threat to the re-election of His Excellency, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu in 202
