Government Must Become More Accountable – John Upan Odey

CROSS RIVER AT A CROSSROADS: THE CASE FOR A NEW CONVERSATION ABOUT GOVERNANCE.Cross River State has never suffered from a shortage of potential and resources. From the forests of the Cross River National Park to the mountains of Obudu, from the waterfalls of Agbokim and Kwa to the cultural heritage of Calabar, the state possesses the natural and human resources to occupy a much larger place in Nigeria’s economic story.The more difficult question is whether Cross River has consistently converted those advantages into broad-based prosperity.That question will become increasingly important as the state approaches the 2027 governorship election.John Upan Odey, who has emerged as the governorship candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), introduces another dimension into what promises to be a consequential political conversation about the direction of the state- A Fresh Start, he calls it.But beyond personalities and party labels, the more important question is this: What kind of government does Cross River require for the next phase of its development?That is the conversation the electorate deserves.This is the question they should be asking.

FROM POTENTIAL TO PRODUCTIVITYCross River’s greatest economic challenge may not simply be the absence of resources. It is the persistent difficulty of translating resources into productive economic activity.Tourism provides a particularly obvious example.The state has spent decades being described as a tourism destination, yet tourism cannot become a serious economic engine merely through festivals, promotional campaigns or attractive destinations. It requires roads, aviation connectivity, hospitality infrastructure, investment incentives, skilled workers, security, destination marketing and a deliberate strategy for keeping more tourism expenditure within local communities.Recent research on ecotourism in Cross River reinforces this point, finding a strong relationship between employment, income generation and ecotourism development in rural communities.The implication is significant.Tourism policy should not be measured simply by the number of visitors who arrive in Calabar. It should also be measured by the number of jobs created, businesses established, farmers connected to hospitality supply chains, artisans whose products reach visitors and communities whose incomes rise because tourism is working.That is the difference between tourism as spectacle and tourism as economic policy.THE YOUTH QUESTIONNo serious conversation about Cross River’s future can avoid the question of its young people.A state cannot build a sustainable economy while a significant portion of its educated and energetic population believes that opportunity exists elsewhere.The solution cannot be reduced to occasional empowerment programmes or the distribution of start-up items.Young people require an economic ecosystem.That means technical and vocational education linked to actual industries; access to finance; digital skills; apprenticeships; agricultural value chains; technology-enabled businesses; construction and infrastructure opportunities; creative industries; tourism and hospitality employment; and policies that make private-sector investment commercially viable.The test of youth policy should therefore be straightforward:Does it create an income pathway that survives after the government programme ends?That is a more demanding standard, but Cross River needs demanding standards.

RURAL CROSS RIVER CANNOT REMAIN AN AFTERTHOUGHTThe economic conversation in Cross River is often dominated by Calabar.Understandably so, the state capital is its administrative and commercial centre, but Cross River is much larger than Calabar.The future of the state also depends on Ogoja, Ikom, Obudu, Obanliku, Bekwarra, Etung, Akamkpa, Yakurr, Biase, Abi, Yala, Obubra, Boki and the other local government areas that constitute its economic and social geography.Agriculture, rural tourism, small businesses, mining-related activity, transportation and local manufacturing require infrastructure that allows goods and people to move efficiently.Poor connectivity imposes a hidden tax on rural communities. A FARMER who cannot move produce to market efficiently is effectively earning less. A TOURIST who cannot reach a destination comfortably is less likely to visit, a MANUFACTURER who cannot move raw materials and finished products competitively is less likely to invest.Consequently, road infrastructure should be viewed not merely as a construction issue but as economic infrastructure.GOVERNMENT MUST BECOME MORE ACCOUNTABLE: There is another issue that deserves greater attention in the 2027 debate: the quality of governance itself.Cross River does not merely need programmes.It needs institutions capable of delivering them.A serious government should be able to articulate what it intends to achieve, how much each intervention will cost, who will implement it, when it should be completed and how citizens will know whether it has succeeded.This requires measurable targets.If a government promises thousands of jobs, citizens should be able to determine how many jobs were actually created.If it promises improved roads, citizens should know which roads, what completion dates and what funding arrangements are involved.If it promises tourism expansion, citizens should be able to see measurable changes in visitor numbers, private investment, employment and internally generated revenue.Governance becomes meaningful when promises can be measured against outcomes.WHERE JOHN UPAN ODEY FITS INTO THE CONVERSATIONJohn Upan Odey’s entry into the 2027 contest therefore deserves to be considered within this larger policy context.His political message has increasingly centred on service, inclusion and a departure from divisive politics. Recent public remarks attributed to him have framed the moment as one requiring a renewed emphasis on service rather than politics of division.Whether that philosophy can be translated into an effective governing programme is ultimately a question for scrutiny by the electorate. John Upan Odey believes ELECTION SHOULD BE BIGGER THAN THE CANDIDATES. Elections are often reduced to personalities.That is understandable because candidates give elections a human face, but the consequences of government extend far beyond personalities.A governor determines priorities that affect roads, schools, hospitals, businesses, farmers, civil servants, investors, young people and communities for years.The 2027 election should therefore become an opportunity for Cross River to interrogate competing visions of its future.John Upan Odey has presented himself as one of the political actors offering an alternative direction.This proposition deserves neither automatic acceptance nor automatic dismissal, It deserves scrutiny.He urges that same standard should apply to every candidate seeking the mandate to govern the state.He believes that Cross River is too endowed to be defined permanently by its unrealised potential. The state needs an economy that creates opportunity beyond government employment, a tourism sector that produces livelihoods rather than headlines, rural communities connected to markets, young people equipped for productive work and institutions that can be held accountable for results.The central question of 2027, therefore, should not simply be who wants to govern Cross River? It should be, Who has the clearest, most credible and most measurable plan for converting Cross River’s enormous potential into prosperity for its people? John Upan Odey is the man- the candidate we all need for a prosperous Cross River.

Let us be clear: Mr. John Upan Odey is not merely a candidate selected by the party, he won the NDC governorship primary held on 29 May 2026 and was subsequently affirmed as the party’s candidate. So the question is no longer about who the party could have chosen. The primary has been decided and 2027 will decide whether the people accept that choice. .With 2027 around the corner, JOHN UPAN ODEY, Nigeria Democratic Congress Governorship Candidate is set for the polls he welcomes your support and help – for we are one People- one Cross River.- JOHN UPAN ODEY MEDIA TEAM.