The Chairman of the Cross River State Civil Service Commission, Sir Maurice Effiwatt, has commended the Progressive Vanguard, a group of civil servants recruited by Governor Bassey Edet Otu between 2024 and 2025, for mobilising support for the governor’s re-election in 2027.
Effiwatt spoke when the group, led by its Director-General, Sir Edwin Orok-Edet Duke, paid him a courtesy visit at the Commission’s office at the New Secretariat Complex, Calabar. He also commended the group for cultivating the spirit of thanksgiving by recognising what the governor had done for its members.
He said Governor Otu had demonstrated that his administration was committed to people who had previously felt abandoned, neglected or rejected. “The governor has established it clearly that Jesus Christ is the boss of the state, and he has demonstrated it by reaching out to those that feel abandoned, neglected or rejected,” he stated.
According to Effiwatt, casual workers in the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation, State Internal Revenue Service and several ministries, departments and agencies, some of whom had worked for more than 16 years, were regularised and absorbed into the civil service under the governor’s administration.
He assured the Progressive Vanguard that he would convey its message to Governor Otu and pledged his support when necessary, while urging members to take their official duties seriously. He said the governor had changed the course of many people’s lives, stressing that “it takes one man to change the course of history.”
Earlier, Duke said the Progressive Vanguard was formed by civil servants whose long-held dream of becoming career public servants was revived through Governor Otu’s visionary leadership. He said more than 3,500 civil servants recruited by the state government between 2024 and 2025 had joined the group.
Duke described the Vanguard as a non-partisan assembly of civil servants recruited into the state service from 2024 to date, adding that its membership had expanded to include senior civil servants willing to support the governor’s re-election.
He said the group had established its structure across the 18 local government areas and three senatorial districts of the state, with more civil servants indicating interest in joining. According to him, the group’s objective is to reciprocate the governor’s people-oriented governance with their votes in 2027.
Duke expressed confidence that Governor Otu’s re-election would consolidate the developmental gains recorded by his administration and create opportunities for more Cross Riverians to secure employment in the state and local government services. He also appreciated Effiwatt for his fatherly role during the recruitment exercise and his selfless service to the state.
By Iloke Egbe
