2027: Give Tinubu, Otu another term, Shettima tells Cross River

…says authority belongs to the people …Bakassi Deep seaport will be one Nigeria’s maritime gateway By Ike Uchechukwu, CALABAR Nigeria’s vice president, Senator Kashim Shettima, on Monday, held out the promise of a deep seaport in Bakassi and the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway to Cross River voters, asking them to renew the mandate of President Bola Tinubu and Governor Bassey Otu in 2027.

Representing the President at the APC Presidential Campaign rally at the U.J. Esuene Stadium, Shettima brought the President’s greetings and thanked the people for standing by the administration. “Over the past three years, you have shown us support, and you have resisted the lies and propaganda intended to misrepresent us,” he said. He described the relationship with the people of Cross River and Nogeria at large as “an alliance of prosperity, an alliance of opportunity”.

He said the APC was seeking votes for Tinubu, Governor Otu, and candidates for the National Assembly and the State House of Assembly. “We are asking because authority belongs to the people. Those entrusted with authority must return with an account of their stewardship.” Turning to the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, he said the project would “connect coastal communities” and “ease the movement of goods and people.” He added that it would expand tourism, attract investors and create thousands of direct and indirect jobs.

On the Bakassi Deep Seaport, he said the project had received federal government approval. “When completed, it will become an international maritime gateway. It will attract shipping companies. It will generate employment,” he said. He said the two projects were part of a plan to make Cross River a major beneficiary of the government’s maritime economy agenda.

The vice president also spoke about education, saying the government’s student financing intervention would drive human capital development in the state. He said it would give relief to parents and widen access to higher education so that no parent would be forced to abandon a child’s schooling for lack of funds. Shettima praised the party faithful at the rally, saying they were “chosen by you, endorsed by you.” He asked them to vote for the APC “from top to bottom” in the 2027 elections.

“You, the people, are the purpose and authority of you,” he declared. Ends