CALABAR — About 3,500 Cross River civil servants under the aegis of the Progressive Vanguard have declared their support for the re-election of Governor Bassey Edet Otu for a second term in office.
The group, which said its membership cuts across the three senatorial districts of the state, made its position known during a courtesy visit to the Chairman of the Cross River State Civil Service Commission, Sir Maurice Effiwatt, on Thursday.
Speaking on behalf of the group, its Director-General, Sir Edwin Duke, said the Progressive Vanguard was made up principally of civil servants who were recruited into the state service between 2024 and the present.
Duke said the group had expanded its membership to include other civil servants in the state, adding that its current membership stood at approximately 3,500 people across the three senatorial districts.
He said the members, having benefited from the employment policy of the Otu administration, considered it a moral responsibility to support the governor’s bid for a second term.
“It is our earnest desire to give back in our own modest way to the ‘Giver’, our dear Governor, by expressing our support for his re-election bid,” Duke said.
He added that the group believed a second term for Otu would consolidate what it described as the developmental gains of the administration and create opportunities for more Cross Riverians to secure employment in the state and local government services.
According to him, the decision to support the governor was not an attempt to turn the group into a political organisation, but a demonstration of appreciation by beneficiaries of the administration’s employment policy.
“We are not asking to engage in partisan politics, but as beneficiaries of this administration’s employment policy, we feel a moral duty to demonstrate our gratitude through peaceful and lawful advocacy for continuity and progress,” he said.
Effiwatt, who received the group at his office, acknowledged the visit and after listening to their position expressed surprise at their disposition. He assured the leadership of his intention to notify the state governor of their goodwill.
His words, “They are civil servants who are grateful. They came to say thank you to the government for what the governor had done for them. That they are not insensitive to that kind of favour, and that they are going to mobilise themselves in their numbers across the nook and cranny of the state because they believe this is a very good term that deserves another.
“Some of them have been unemployed for fourteen years, they’ve watched governors come and go, today they’re now pensionable civil servants. They are just full of excitement and so excited that they came to say thank you to His Excellency the governor whom they can’t meet immediately, but through me I am going to pass that message to him.”
Duke also commended the leadership of the Civil Service Commission for what he described as its efforts to transform the commission and promote transparency in the recruitment process.
He particularly praised Effiwatt for the introduction of an online application system for civil service recruitment, describing it as a landmark initiative that could serve as a model for other states.
The Progressive Vanguard Director-General said the group had previously experienced what he described as prolonged unemployment and uncertainty before the recent recruitment exercises provided its members with an opportunity to contribute their skills to the development of the state.
He said the members remained grateful for the opportunity to serve Cross River and expressed optimism that continuity in government would sustain employment opportunities in the state.
The delegation included the group’s State Coordinator, Samuel Ironbar; State Secretary, Clement Torsam; Assistant State Secretary, Alice Okon; State Publicity Secretary, Archibong Archibong; State Treasurer, Annie Omieh; State Youth Leader, Louis Offiong; Central Senatorial Coordinator, Ferdinand Ebri; and Northern Senatorial Coordinator, Angelica Adigeb.
