The Evidence Group, a political mobilisation organisation supporting the All Progressives Congress (APC), has commenced its planned statewide grassroots mobilisation in Cross River State with the inauguration of its working committee in Ogoja Local Government Area ahead of the 2027 general elections.
The group’s Director-General, Mr Eyoma Bassey, who inaugurated the committee in Ogoja, charged members to mobilise support for the APC across wards, polling units, campuses and rural communities as the organisation prepares to extend its activities across the state’s three senatorial districts.
Bassey said the group was established to mobilise support for the party by taking its message to the grassroots and communicating what it considers the achievements of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Governor Bassey Edet Otu and other APC leaders.
He urged members to engage residents proactively and persuade voters to support the party, warning against intimidation, harassment or any conduct capable of undermining peaceful political participation.
“We are not here to intimidate people,” Bassey said, stressing that the group’s activities must be guided by constructive engagement and its responsibility as a youth-driven political movement.
He directed members to submit the names of proposed polling-unit coordinators to the leadership for vetting and approval before announcing appointments, signalling the group’s intention to build an organised grassroots network ahead of the elections.
The Ogoja inauguration is expected to precede similar mobilisation exercises in the remaining four local government areas of Cross River North, after which the group plans to extend its activities to the Central and Southern Senatorial Districts.
The group’s Director of Media and Communications, Mr Andrea Ekeng, disclosed that the mobilisation drive would culminate in a major convention in Calabar, where members are expected to make a collective declaration of support for the APC.
Ekeng called on residents to support Tinubu, Otu and other APC candidates in 2027, citing developments such as the Calabar–Itu Road project, the Federal Government’s intervention in Cross River’s oil-well dispute and the approval of the Bakassi Deep Seaport as reasons for the group’s political position.
He described the Calabar–Itu Road project as important to connectivity between Cross River and neighbouring states, while presenting the proposed deep seaport as an opportunity to attract investment, create jobs and expand the state’s economic prospects. He also claimed that Afreximbank had indicated support for the seaport project with about $3 billion in financing, a figure that was not independently verified in the information provided.
Ekeng commended the Otu administration for what he described as efforts to spread development across the state, particularly in the Northern Senatorial District, and urged members to communicate the administration’s achievements to residents during their grassroots engagements.
The Chairman of Ogoja Local Government Council, Chief Agbeh Christopher Eweh, welcomed the group’s mobilisation drive and encouraged members to extend their activities to other communities across the Northern Senatorial District.
The event ended with members chanting the group’s slogan, “Evidence! No noise, just proof!” and reaffirming their commitment to the APC’s “5 over 5” campaign in Cross River State.
