The Niger Delta Development Commission has documented ten major interventions in Cross River State, covering roads, healthcare, agriculture, youth empowerment, and scholarships, as evidence of federal presence in the state ahead of the 2027 elections.
The projects were highlighted in a document detailing the Commission’s activities in the state, released amid intensified political mobilisation by the Cross River State representative on the NDDC Board, Rt. Hon. Orok Otu Duke.
According to the document, the interventions include the 8.137-kilometre road network in Calabar South and Calabar Municipality, commissioned in June 2025 alongside the inauguration of the NDDC’s ultra-modern Cross River State office.
The Commission is also executing the 20-kilometre Okomita–Uyanga–Ehom Road, linking communities in Akamkpa and Biase Local Government Areas, and the 1.5-kilometre Idundu Junction–Idundu Bridge Road in Akpabuyo LGA.
Other road projects listed are the 10.8-kilometre Aking–Osomba Road in Akamkpa LGA and the Adiabo–Iko–Neto Road, which Governor Bassey Otu highlighted during an NDDC engagement in 2025.
In the health sector, the document lists the Ikom Specialist Hospital, being executed through a partnership involving the Nigeria LNG, as nearing completion. It also cites a free healthcare outreach at the General Hospital, Akamkpa, in June 2024, targeting rural communities.
On youth empowerment, the NDDC said it trained 500 young men and women in financial prudence in May 2026 under its Skills Acquisition and Capacity Enhancement Programme, and distributed 150 minibuses and 200 tricycles to beneficiaries.
The Commission also commenced the distribution of handheld tiller machines to farmers in Cross River in 2025 and has included the state in its postgraduate scholarship scheme, though its allocation is smaller than those of some higher oil-producing states.
The document links the interventions to President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda, with NDDC officials describing the projects as reflecting the Federal Government’s commitment to the Niger Delta.
Duke has cited the interventions in his recent engagements with APC grassroots structures in Calabar South, urging residents to support Tinubu’s re-election and APC candidates in 2027.
The NDDC Managing Director, Samuel Ogbuku, had during a 2025 visit to Governor Otu said the Commission remained willing to partner with the state government on infrastructure and other development initiatives.
With the 2027 elections approaching, the document places the NDDC interventions within a wider political argument over continuity, federal partnership, and the benefits Cross Riverians have received from projects and programmes of the Tinubu administration.
