2027: Bury differences to re-elect Tinubu, Otu – Governor’s wife tells APC women

….Betta Edu: We won’t repeat 2023 mistakes By Ike Uchechukwu, Calabar The wife of Cross River State Governor, Mrs Eyoawan Bassey Otu, has urged All Progressives Congress (APC) members to put aside their grievances, reconcile and unite ahead of the 2027 general elections, saying party cohesion is crucial to securing victory for President Bola Tinubu and Governor Bassey Otu.

Mrs Otu made the appeal at the weekend in Calabar during a meeting of the Women Mobilisation Directorate of the APC Campaign Council, organised ahead of the party’s rally in the state. The meeting was held at the instance of the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu. Addressing the gathering, the governor’s wife urged party members to let go of past disagreements and focus on the task ahead.

“Whatever has been bothering us, whatever has been our pain, let’s bury the hatchet and move on,” she said. She stressed that the party’s immediate political objective should be the re-election of Tinubu and her husband in 2027. Citing Ephesians 2, Mrs Otu urged members who felt offended or sidelined to remain committed to doing what was right, irrespective of how others treated them.

“Whether they love you or not, just keep doing the right thing. At the appropriate time, the reward will come,” she said. The governor’s wife also highlighted her interventions in the health sector, disclosing that her free medical outreach had conducted more than 2,000 surgeries across 12 editions in three years. She said the 13th edition of the programme was scheduled for the following week.

“My best might not be good enough for you, but I am trying my utmost best,” she said, explaining that her interventions were intended to bridge gaps in healthcare delivery while the governor focused on administration and infrastructure development. Mrs Otu urged APC women to take the campaign to their homes, churches, markets and neighbourhoods, noting that their familiarity with residents placed them in a good position to drive grassroots mobilisation.

“Talk to your neighbours about APC. Your faces have been sold. They know you already,” she said. Also speaking, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Dr Betta Edu, who is Co-Director of the APC Women Mobilisation Directorate, declared that the party would not repeat the mistakes it made during the 2023 elections. Edu commended the First Lady for empowering women and noted the increase in female representation in the Cross River State House of Assembly.

“I remember the days there was only one woman in the House,” she said. She told the women that their commitment to the party would be measured by their performance at the polling units, rather than assurances and promises. “There is only one line of authority in Cross River State. Our leader is Governor Bassey Otu, and his dear wife. What they tell me to do is what I will go and do,” she said.

Edu called for intensive grassroots mobilisation through door-to-door campaigns, church gatherings, prayer meetings and market engagements. “We don’t even have up to 80 days for this election. It’s serious business. If you don’t organise up to 200 votes, know that you have failed yourself. “Let’s not repeat the mistakes of 2023. We must ensure we win all the LGAs, 18 out of 18, for President Tinubu and Governor Otu,” she said.