Cross River First Lady Urges Women to Support APC for 2027 Elections

The Wife of the Cross River State Governor, Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, has called on women in the state to stay loyal to the All Progressives Congress ahead of the 2027 general elections. She asked them to rally support for the party at the grassroots level.

Otu made this appeal on Sunday during a meeting with female political stakeholders and APC supporters in the state. This meeting was held in preparation for an upcoming party rally.

She encouraged members to put aside their differences and work as one. Otu warned that switching to another political party could mean starting over with new leaders and supporters.

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 linked the ongoing achievements of the administration to the party's success at the polls. She urged women to show their support through voting.

“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 dedicated to improving the welfare of residents, said her initiatives are meant to support her husband’s administration, especially for vulnerable people.

She revealed that her medical outreach program has held about 12 editions in three years, performing over 2,000 surgeries. She added that another edition is set 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 takes care of administrative tasks and infrastructure, she focuses on welfare programs to fill gaps in social support.

Otu further urged the women to spread the APC’s message to their neighbours, churches, markets, wards, and business places. She said their efforts should lead to 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.”

Dr Betta Edu, the Deputy Director of the APC Women Mobilisation Directorate, also spoke. She challenged the women to show their loyalty to the party through actual votes instead of just saying they support it.

Edu called the meeting a strategic exercise for mobilization and praised Otu for encouraging women’s political involvement and creating opportunities for empowerment.

She noted that the presence of female candidates seeking elections on the APC ticket shows the governor’s wife’s commitment to promoting women in politics.

“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 campaign door-to-door, in churches, during prayer meetings, and in markets, focusing on their polling units.

Edu set a goal of getting between 100 and 200 votes for the women in each polling unit. She warned that their actual results would show if they met 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 settle their differences, saying the time leading up to the elections should not be used for personal grudges.

“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 evaluate the commitment of its supporters based on the votes from their polling units.

Cross River State is one of the states where the APC aims to maintain political support for the 2027 general elections. The party's preparations have included meetings with grassroots supporters and women’s groups, whose involvement is key for campaign efforts.