In a democracy, the currency of political relevance is credibility. Credibility is not built on rhetoric alone. It is built on service rendered, opportunities managed, and the willingness of public actors to be measured by the same standards they apply to others.
As Cross River State settles into the administration of Governor Senator Bassey Edet Otu, and as political conversations ahead of 2027 intensify, the public discourse must move from personalities to principles. The central question is not who is speaking the loudest, but who can demonstrate a verifiable record of impact, and who is prepared to be held to account.
Recent exchanges in Cross River, particularly around the roles played by Okadigbo, have brought this question to the fore. The concerns expressed by stakeholders like Comrade Declan Ogar-Genesis reflect a broader sentiment within party structures: that political opportunity must come with responsibility, and that leadership must be judged by what it produces for the collective.
The administration of former Governor Ben Ayade created several platforms for Cross Riverians to serve. Among those platforms were the office of the Director-General of Due Process and the State Chairmanship of the APC occupied by Mr Eba. These are not ceremonial roles. They carry influence over policy implementation, party administration, and access to government.
Within that period, many party members worked to expand the APC’s base in Cross River. Stakeholders recall how networks were built, how new entrants were introduced to government, and how political capital was pooled to sustain the party. The most obvious benefits seem to have been limited to mansions built by Eba in Abuja, Water Board Area of Calabar and his Yala home town while many party members wallowed in poverty with some long dead for being unable to pay hospital bills
When such collective effort produces individual advancement, the expectation within any political community is reciprocity. That is, those who rise should also lift others, strengthen institutions, and leave structures that outlast their tenure. When that expectation is not met, or when it is perceived not to have been met, it creates the kind of frustration now being voiced. The management of APC by Eba has indeed left many aggrieved members of APC today with many joining in the chorus of APC as a party without reward system This is not about personal grievance. It is about the health of political institutions. Parties that do not manage internal fairness and recognition struggle to retain talent and trust.
Across Cross River, there are genuine calls for unity and for reconciliation among former allies. Reconciliation is essential for party cohesion and for effective opposition or governance.
However, in public life, reconciliation is durable only when it follows a clear path: acknowledgement of what transpired, accountability for decisions made while in office, and restitution where promises were made but not kept. Eba rather parade in arrogance while mandating his media drones to insult those he short-changed as APC CRS Chairman
To ask party members and the public to “move on” without addressing the record of stewardship is to ask for amnesia. The public is entitled to ask direct and respectful questions:
What institutional reforms were advanced during Alphonsus Ogar Eba tenure as DG Due Process? Were procurement and due process systems strengthened in ways that benefited the state beyond that administration?
– As State Chairman of the APC, what structures were built to deepen party administration at the LGA and ward levels? How were women, youths, and local stakeholders integrated into decision-making of APC by Okadigbo?
What specific interventions, projects, or policy initiatives can be traced to that period that improved conditions in Eba’s immediate community, Yala, the Northern Senatorial District and across Cross River?
These are governance questions. They are the same questions citizens will ask of any person seeking higher office.
Today, the administration of Governor Senator Bassey Edet Otu is being assessed by a performance index that is increasingly visible: infrastructure delivery, civil service reforms, investment promotion, and social intervention programs. Whether one agrees with every policy choice or not, the government is presenting budgets, projects, and data for public scrutiny. That is the basis of democratic accountability.
By that same standard, those who held public and party office previously, and those who now seek to provide alternatives, must also present a scorecard. Criticism of government is a constitutional right and a democratic necessity. But criticism carries more weight when it is paired with a demonstrable record of what was done with previous opportunities.
The public conversation, therefore, should invite a comparison not of personalities, but of outcomes. What was the state of party administration before and after? What was the state of due process and institutional integrity during that period? What measurable impact was recorded in the LGA of origin and across the state?
It is a reality of Nigerian politics that public office often changes the economic status of those who hold it. That is not in itself illegitimate. Public service should not demand poverty.
What matters to citizens, however, is the translation of access into public value. The relevant metric is not personal assets (fat Bank account, building of mansion in Abuja, Water Board Area of CRS, and Yala). It is impact. How many people were employed, trained, or mentored? How many communities received projects? How was the institution left better than it was met by Eba’s days in power?
This is why voters are asking for more than press releases. They are asking for evidence of multiplied opportunity. From a position of limited public profile to a position of state-wide visibility, the reasonable public question is: who else grew with Okadigbo? Who else amazed same level of wealth like Alphonsus Ogar Eba? Which institutions were strengthened? Which communities saw direct benefit? Without answers to these questions, political criticism risks being interpreted as repositioning rather than public service.
Barr Alphonsus Ogar Eba is being positioned within political circles as PDP gubernatorial candidate. That is his right in a democracy. The constitution guarantees freedom of association and the right to contest.
But with aspiration comes a higher standard of accountability. A gubernatorial candidate is judged on three levels:
First, policy. What is the alternative development agenda for Cross River from 2027? How will it address the economy, education, healthcare, security, and youth unemployment differently?
Second, record. What is the verifiable account of stewardship in previous roles? What worked, what did not work, and what lessons were learned?
Third, capacity for inclusion. How will a future administration ensure that opportunities are distributed fairly across the three senatorial districts, and that governance is consultative and transparent? To the best of my knowledge Eba used previous opportunities to enrich himself alone
To meet this moment, the political conversation must shift. It must move from media commentary to policy documents, from accusations to data, and from personality to program.
Cross River State has spent too many political cycles in a loop of defection, counter-accusation, and personal rivalry. The result has been weak institutions and voter apathy.
What the state needs now is a politics of evidence. We must judge leaders by what they did with “little” before entrusting them with “much.” We must demand that anyone who benefited from state opportunity show how that opportunity was used to create opportunities for others. And we must insist that calls for unity be matched with acts of transparency.
This does not mean silencing dissent. Governor Otu, like any elected official, must be held to account on service delivery, security, and economic development. But accountability is not a one-way street. Those who seek to lead by replacing Governor Bassey Otu must also present themselves for scrutiny.
The future of Cross River State will not be decided by who is the most vocal on social media. It will be decided by who can present the clearest vision, the most verifiable record, and the strongest commitment to the public good.
To stakeholders who feel aggrieved: your experience is part of the party’s institutional memory and deserves structured engagement within party mechanisms. To Eba now moved to PDP (leaving behind a people with deep wounds of being manipulated) and to his supporters: the moment to present a comprehensive scorecard is now. To the people of Cross River: demand data, not just declarations.
Democracy deepens when we replace bitterness with benchmarks, and when we replace blackmail with blueprints. Forgiveness in public life becomes possible when it is preceded by truth. Trust is earned when it is preceded by performance.
That is the standard Cross Riverians should insist on as we approach 2027.
Joseph Odok PhD Esq
Hope you find the Above publication useful, Calabargist will love to keep you updated via our newsletter by subscribing with your email.
