2027: Cross River First Lady rallies women for APC

File photo: Wife of the Cross River State Governor, Eyoanwan Bassey Otu

The Wife of the Cross River State Governor, Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, has urged women in the state to remain loyal to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections, calling on them to mobilise support for the party at the grassroots.

Otu made the appeal on Sunday during a strategic meeting with female political stakeholders and APC supporters in the state ahead of a planned party rally.

She urged members to set aside their differences and work together, warning that moving to another political platform could mean starting afresh with a new set of political leaders and loyalists.

She said, “Don’t abandon APC in 2027. You have to remain loyal to the party and mobilise support at the grassroots. You can’t start all over. If you bring in a new person, the person would definitely want to come with his or her person. And so, your faces have been sold. They know you already. You are my person.”

The governor’s wife also linked the continuation of what she described as the administration’s achievements to the party’s electoral fortunes, urging the women to demonstrate their support through their votes.

“Whether you like it or not, if you don’t vote for me to go back there, you will not enjoy all this goodness,” she said.

Otu, who described herself as committed to improving residents’ welfare, said her interventions were designed to complement her husband’s administration, particularly in supporting vulnerable people.

She disclosed that her medical outreach programme had held about 12 editions in three years, with more than 2,000 surgeries conducted. She added that another edition was scheduled for the following week.

“Health is wealth. We have had 12 editions, and we have had over 2,000 surgeries,” she said.

She explained that while Governor Bassey Otu handled administrative responsibilities and infrastructural development, she focused on welfare interventions to address gaps in social support.

Otu further urged the women to take the APC’s message to their neighbours, churches, markets, wards and places of business, stressing that their mobilisation efforts should translate into votes.

She added, “Whether you hate the person or not, we don’t care. But because the person has somehow found him or herself, we will vote him or her in.”

Also speaking, the Deputy Director of the APC Women Mobilisation Directorate, Dr Betta Edu, challenged the women to demonstrate their commitment to the party through electoral results rather than verbal declarations of support.

Edu described the meeting as a strategic mobilisation exercise and commended Otu for encouraging women’s participation in politics and providing empowerment opportunities.

She said the presence of female candidates seeking elective positions on the APC platform reflected the governor’s wife’s efforts to promote women’s political inclusion.

“The only way to pay this woman of God back is to go back to the field and walk,” Edu said.

She urged the women to mobilise voters through door-to-door campaigns, churches, prayer meetings and markets, with particular attention to their respective polling units.

Edu set a target of between 100 and 200 votes for the women in each polling unit, warning that their actual performance would determine whether they had fulfilled their commitments.

“Don’t act like there’s any other person. Act like it is only you and if you don’t mobilise up to 200 votes in your polling unit or at least 100 votes in your polling unit, know that you failed yourself and you have failed our mother,” she said.

She also called on party members to resolve their differences, saying the period leading up to the election should not be spent settling personal scores.

“If I offend you, forgive me. If your sister offends you, forgive me. These 80 days are not days for grudges. It’s not days to check who does, who doesn’t do. You, carry yourself, go to the field and do it,” Edu said.

The former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs added that the party would assess the commitment of its supporters based on the votes recorded in their respective polling units.

Cross River State is among the states where the APC will seek to retain political support ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The party’s preparations have included engagements with grassroots supporters and women’s groups, whose participation is often central to campaign mobilisation.