Shettima asks Cross River to back Tinubu and Otu in 2027
- Vice-President Kashim Shettima told a Calabar rally that Tinubu's reforms are painful but starting to pay off.
- He promised a Bakassi deep seaport and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would bring jobs to Cross River.
- Governor Bassey Otu and Senate President Godswill Akpabio joined the APC campaign event at U.J. Esuene Stadium.
Vice-President Kashim Shettima on Monday asked Cross River voters to give President Bola Tinubu and Governor Bassey Otu another term in 2027, saying the state stands to gain from federal projects already under way.
He spoke at an All Progressives Congress (APC) rally at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, where he represented the President. Before the stadium event, he paid homage at the palace of the Obong of Calabar, Edidem Ekpo Okon Abasi Otu V, according to Daily Post.
Shettima said the government's economic reforms have been hard on Nigerians but are beginning to show results. He urged people to measure the administration against where the country stood in 2023, when Tinubu took office, and compared the President's approach to that of Singapore's founding leader, Lee Kuan Yew.
What the government is promising Cross River
The Vice-President said the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway would link coastal communities, make it easier to move goods and people, and create jobs. He said the Bakassi Deep Seaport has federal approval and, once built, would serve as an international shipping gateway that attracts vessels and employment.
He also pointed to the Nigerian Education Loan Fund, saying it would ease the burden on parents and widen access to higher education.
Governor Otu, in his own remarks, listed the coastal highway, the proposed seaport and plans to site the Gulf of Guinea Commission Secretariat in Calabar as projects that could reshape the state's economy through trade, tourism and hospitality. He said Cross River must turn its political weight into concrete gains.
Shettima described the party's relationship with the state as one of shared opportunity, and said those in power must account for how they have used it. He asked supporters to vote APC "from top to bottom" in 2027.
Senate President Godswill Akpabio, National Assembly members, APC governors and party leaders attended, Punch reported.
What happens next
The rally is part of the APC's push ahead of the 2027 general elections. For ordinary residents, the test will be whether the promised road, seaport and student loans reach Cross River before then. The seaport and the commission secretariat are still proposals, and the sources gave no timelines or costs.
