The re-election campaign for Cross River State Governor, Sen. Bassey Edet Otu, is gathering momentum across the state, as the Neighbour 2 Neighbour (N2N) Network has taken its grassroots mobilisation drive to the Southern Senatorial District, declaring its ambition to deliver more than one million votes for the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
N2N, a grassroots movement established to take the achievements and policies of the Otu administration to communities across Cross River, inaugurated 40 ward and polling unit coordinators in separate activities held in Bakassi, Akpabuyo, Calabar South and Calabar Municipality.
Speaking during the inaugurations, the Director General of N2N, Dr. Bobby Ekpenyong, said the organisation was building an extensive grassroots structure designed to reach voters in every community and mobilise them for greater participation in the 2027 elections.
Ekpenyong explained that the structure operates through ward, local government and neighbourhood cells, with each neighbourhood cell comprising 10 coordinators, while each coordinator is expected to mobilise 10 persons under what the organisation calls “Operation Get 10 Persons.”
“We have a very strong advocacy structure. The main aim is to galvanise everybody and speak to them about the Sweet Prince. We are taking the message and the achievements of the administration to the people at the grassroots,” he said.
The university don said the 2027 election would be different from previous electoral contests, stressing that N2N would collaborate with the Governor Otu-led administration, APC leadership and other support groups to achieve its one-million-vote target.
“The 2027 election is not a year of sitting on the fence; it is not an election of voter apathy. It is a call to action by all persons of voting age. It is an era of massive voter turnout to improve upon our voting strength, and that is what N2N is committed to achieving,” Ekpenyong said.
He recalled that Cross River recorded a comparatively low presidential vote in the 2023 general election, arguing that the state must reverse the trend if it was to strengthen its bargaining position at the federal level.
“We cannot allow what happened in the 2023 general election to repeat itself. In that election, Cross River recorded less than 200,000 votes for the President. In 2027, we must hit over one million votes so that our Governor can have something to bargain with and make a case for Cross Riverians,” he said.
Ekpenyong said N2N had been traversing the 196 wards of the state to mobilise eligible voters, insisting that Cross Riverians must demonstrate greater political participation and turnout at the polls.
“We must break that old jinx that our people are not politically inclined and are disenchanted during elections. This is the auspicious time to show that we are ready to play national APC politics by delivering massively for Tinubu and Otu. No sitting on the fence; all hands must be on deck,” he stated.
Also speaking at the various fora, N2N Director of Women Mobilisation, Dr. Silo Ekpenyong, called on women to take an active role in the mobilisation effort, urging them to engage their neighbours, children, church members and colleagues on the importance of participating in the elections.
She said, “Women must wake up from slumber and come out en masse to cast their votes. We must talk to our neighbours, our children, our church members and our colleagues and convince them on the need to return Tinubu and Otu massively.”
Silo cited what she described as empowerment initiatives of the Otu administration targeting women in agriculture, trading and politics, urging women to consider such interventions when making their electoral choices.
At Calabar Municipality, the APC House of Representatives candidate for Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency, Dr. Effeffiom Nta Eke, commended N2N for taking the mobilisation campaign to the grassroots, saying the infrastructure investments of the Tinubu and Otu administrations deserved the attention of voters.
According to Eke, “Never in the history of the country and the state has an administration invested so heavily in infrastructure to boost economic growth and business across the geopolitical zones.”
The former local government chairman said the 2027 election would witness a new pattern of voter participation and pledged to work with N2N and other stakeholders to mobilise support for APC candidates.
The events were attended by members of the N2N Board of Trustees and coordinators from the participating local government areas, including Hon. Nkom John; Hon. Mrs. Etta Okon, Women Leader, Calabar Municipality; Mr. Offiong Asuquo, Odukpani Coordinator; Mr. Offiong Eyo; Pastor Okon Ekpo, Bakassi Coordinator; Chief Emmanuel Asuquo, Calabar South Coordinator; N2N Director of Finance, Dr. Effiom Ekpo; and Hon. Bassey Etim Okon, Akpabuyo Coordinator.
Others included Calabar Municipal Council Chapter Coordinator, Chief Effiong Etim Archibong; Chapter Secretary, Mr. Dominic Edem; Women Mobiliser, Mrs. Eta Larry; Youth Mobiliser, Effiong Etim Bassey; Special Adviser to the Governor on Tolls, Mr. Bassey Ita (Baddest); and former member of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Mr. Efa Esua.
By Kingsley Agim
