By Edem Darlington
A senior friend of mine drew my attention to an opinion attempting to score the performance of the hardworking governor of Cross River State within the past two years in office.
In his desire to please his paymaster and sponsor, the writer attempted in futility to downplay the sterling performance of Governor Bassey Otu. Lacking depth and basic data analytical skills, he anchored his total assessment of Governor Otu’s performance only on the 2025 Q1 VAT remittance performance of the state as his main variable. The truth is, if I were the writer’s sponsor and paymaster, that opinion would earn him a sack from my payroll. For heaven’s sake, if you’re paid to damage the reputation of a serious and hardworking government, at least do a better Job.
That opinion lacked merit, depth, informed data and clear direction. It was neither here nor there. The writer is poor at his job as a critic. He had, a few weeks ago, attempted to misinform the public regarding the South South Development Commission, after Governor Otu secured the position of Director of Finance, a feat that is remarkable in the history of the state. The writer was the poor striker that was sent to manipulate public opinion against the governor. Unfortunately for him, I am well saddled with the historical facts and laws of the commission and was able to put the facts straight.
Embarrassed, he is again at it to distort the facts regarding the impressive performance of Governor Bassey Otu. For the records, the year 2024 ended with an impressive VAT remittance on the part of Cross River State to the federal account to the tune of N9.36b in 2024 this is way above the miserable performance of previous years..
In October 2024 BugetIT rated Cross River State as the 4th best performing States in fiscal responsibility, the State also attracted foreign investment capital of about $25.85 million, the highest of any South South State.
As of today, Cross River State revenue curve has made an incredible upward move by 209%, meaning that from ₦22 billion the state’s revenue base moved up to ₦46 billion and from the look of things, it is likely to almost double that, before the end of this fiscal year.
These achievements are apart from Governor Otu’s loan repayments, payment of gratuity and consistency in pension and salaries. The remodeling and rehabilitation of key government facilities like the office of the governor, abandoned state library now fitted with state of the art facilities, the cultural center complex, construction of the Adiabo-Eseku-Ikoneto road, construction of the Yahe-Wanakom road in Ukelle, Yala LGA which is very critical to the socio-economic progress of both Cross River and Benue states, the construction of several roads across several part of the state.
It is pertinent therefore, to ask when and how does a Q1 VAT remittance amounts to poor performance in office. Governor Bassey Otu of Cross River State is one of the best performing governors rated by several national and international organizations. Let me also advise the writer to come down to Cross River State and do a proper data gathering and assessment if he wants to do a good job. He cannot stay in Lagos and assess the fiscal performance of another state that is several miles apart from each other.
Independent reviews confirm that citizens and residents of the state are satisfied with the midterm performance of Governor Bassey Otu, with tangible achievements on ground to show and as Cross Riverians, we are confident that the next two years will be iced with even greater and people oriented performance.
Edem Darlington is Deputy Chief Press Secretary to Governor Bassey Edet Otu of Cross River State and writes from Calabar
