LunagisthubThe Achievements And Progress Of Cross River State Despite The False claim by Hon. Hilliard Etta.
Cross River State under His Excellency Sen Prince Bassey Edet Otu is making progress and achieving it’s people first agenda
The claims credited to Ntufam Hilliard Eta are detached from facts, devoid of context, and clearly driven more by political posturing than by an honest assessment of governance in Cross River State.
To assert that there has been “no change in the narrative and trajectory” of the state under Governor Bassey Edet Otu is not only false but also deeply disingenuous. It conveniently ignores concrete interventions, verifiable spending, and structural reforms that directly contradict such a conclusion.
The “Season of Sweetness” is not a slogan for optics; it is a governance philosophy translated into action. At a time when Nigerians across the federation are grappling with the harsh effects of subsidy removal, inflation, and currency depreciation, the Otu administration chose relief over rhetoric—rolling out free transportation during the festive season, cushioning workers, supporting traders, and prioritizing welfare-driven spending over elite comfort.
Entrepreneurship: Facts Against Fiction
Contrary to Eta’s sweeping claim of a lack of entrepreneurial activity, the Otu administration has deliberately injected billions of naira into grassroots enterprise development:
• ₦5 billion MSME Grant and Financing Framework established to support small businesses across all 18 LGAs, with emphasis on non-collateralized grants and low-interest support, not bank-style exclusion.
• Over ₦1.2 billion already disbursed directly to youth- and women-led enterprises spanning agribusiness, fashion, transportation, creative industries, and informal trade.
• Thousands of youths trained under state-supported skills acquisition and enterprise development programmes, with starter packs and seed grants issued to convert skills into income.
• Over ₦2 billion invested in agricultural entrepreneurship, including input subsidies, cooperative financing, seedlings, and extension services—empowering young farmers and agro-processors rather than recycling dependency.
These are not promises. They are budgeted, implemented, and felt interventions.
*Fiscal Responsibility, Not Fiscal Noise*
Eta’s casual dismissal of improved Internally Generated Revenue exposes either a lack of information or a deliberate attempt to mislead. The state has recorded steady IGR growth through automation, leakage control, and widened compliance—without punishing the poor.
More importantly, increased federal allocations under this administration have not translated into reckless spending or ballooning debt, but into:
• improved salary and pension consistency,
• social protection,
• catalytic investments with long-term returns.
*Calling Weakness What Is Actually Strategy*
To describe Cross River State as being at its “weakest” while ignoring landmark breakthroughs such as the federal approval of the *Bakassi Deep Sea Port* is intellectually dishonest. That single project alone positions the state for:
• massive job creation,
maritime and logistics entrepreneurship,
• industrial expansion,
• unprecedented private-sector inflows.
Weak states do not secure projects of that magnitude. Strategic states do.
The Real Issue
The question of “how to cultivate the next generation of entrepreneurs” is already being answered—through grants, skills, access to finance, infrastructure, and long-term economic planning. What is missing in Eta’s commentary is not evidence, but fairness and balance.
Criticism is welcome. Misinformation is not.
Political ambition is legitimate. Distorting progress is not.
Governor Bassey Edet Otu’s administration remains focused on people-first governance, economic recovery, and sustainable prosperity—regardless of attempts to undermine progress with narratives that collapse under scrutiny.
Lunagisthub
