2027: Neighbour2Neighbor Storm C' River Central, Says No Stopping Otu’s Re-election
By Judex Okoro
The Neighbour 2 Neighbour (N2N) Grassroots Mobilisation Network has commenced a grassroots mobilisation drive across Abi and Boki local government areas, saying "nothing will stop Governor Bassey Otu's re-election in 2017."
The group, founded in 2011, said it is committed to mobilising support for Governor Otu, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and other candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as it commenced the inauguration of ward and polling-unit coordinators across the areas.
N2N storm Abi
Speaking during separate mobilisation activities in Abi and Boki, the Director-General of N2N, Dr. Bobby Ekpenyong, said the organisation would deploy its grassroots structure to sensitise voters on the achievements of the Otu administration and mobilise them to support the Governor’s second-term bid.
At the inauguration held at the Abi Local Government Council Secretariat on Friday, August 21, 2026, Ekpenyong urged the people to scrutinise candidates seeking their votes in 2027, particularly those who had previously made promises without delivering on them.
Recalling his previous political affiliation with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Ekpeyong said he had changed his position after assessing what he described as the outstanding achievements of the Otu administration, particularly in employment and the recovery of agricultural estates.
“I have seen the light and have decided to throw my hat into the ring for Governor Bassey Otu because of what the incumbent has done in the area of employment and the recovery of our agricultural estates that were sold in the name of privatisation.”
He also listed the recovery of lost oil wells, discovery of new oil blocks, efforts to revive Tinapa, the push for the take-off of the Bakassi Deep Seaport, renovation of the State Library Complex and the ongoing renovation of the Cultural Centre Complex among the administration’s achievements.
Ekpenyong further cited the administration’s efforts to tackle insecurity and kidnapping, which he said had helped restore investors' confidence, as well as ongoing road construction across the state.
“With all these things done within three years, Otu deserves another medal and should be re-elected in 2027. We are, therefore, here in Abi to solicit your massive votes to enable him complete the good works and take us to the Eldorado,” he said.
N2N Berths at Boki
At Boki, where 12 ward coordinators were inaugurated at Kakwagom, Ekpenyong said N2N was not established to distribute money but to take the message of the administration’s achievements to the grassroots.
He listed the Boki East-West Road, the equipping of the hospital at Abu Ebam and the installation of solar streetlights in Bawop, Kakwagom, Okundi, Kachuan-Irruan and Kakwagom-Irruan as some of the interventions in the area.
He urged members of the group to take the campaign to their neighbourhoods, farms, markets, shops and other gathering points, stressing that everyone has a neighbour.
The N2N Director-General also appealed to the people of the Central Senatorial District to support Otu’s re-election, arguing that the political rotation arrangement in the state should be respected.
“As members of Neighbour 2 Neighbour, Otu’s re-election is a task that must be done so that after 2031, power can return to the Central Senatorial District in line with our zoning pattern. Don’t allow anybody, in any guise, to deceive you into distorting the existing political arrangement that permits rotation of power among the three senatorial zones in the state.”
Ekpenyong challenged candidates seeking the people’s votes in 2027 to present their scorecards and explain what they intend to do differently from the current administration.
“Time has gone for us to be led by the nose again because of the selfish interests of an individual or group of persons. We now know better and we stand for the truth, which is that Governor Bassey Otu has done well and should be returned,” he said.
Youth, Women mobilise for 2027
The Director of Youth Mobilisation, Hon. Michael Kajang Obaji, urged youths to take the campaign to their peers at the grassroots, describing Otu’s re-election as a task that must be accomplished.
Similarly, the Director of Women Mobilisation, Dr. Silo Ekpenyong, called on women to join the mobilisation effort and ensure a massive turnout for all APC candidates.
“This is the time for women to come out en masse and embrace Neighbour 2 Neighbour as well as join the re-election train that is moving around the local government areas to mobilise support for Governor Bassey Otu’s second term.
"No woman should sit on the fence anymore. The time has come for us to get down to work and deliver all APC candidates massively.”
Abi Stakeholders declare Support for Otu
In his welcome remarks, the Abi Local Government Coordinator of N2N, Hon. Kelvin Ezor, said the group is committed to galvanising grassroots support for all APC candidates, describing its campaign as “Operation Show Your Strength and Protect Your Votes.”
He listed the Bahumono Ring Road, the revitalisation of Songhai Farms and the reintegration and resettlement of the Ebiajakara people in their ancestral home after more than a decade as some of the projects he attributed to the Otu administration in Abi.
Also speaking, the Special Adviser on Revenue to the Abi Council Chairman, Hon. Ebong Pius Innocent, said the people of Abi would continue to highlight what he described as the Governor’s positive interventions in the area, particularly road construction.
Innocent said more than 1,000 people from Abi, including farmers, had benefited from various welfare packages, declaring that the people had an opportunity to reciprocate the administration’s interventions through their votes in 2027.
He concluded: “Only the second coming of Jesus Christ will stop Governor Otu’s re-election in 2027.”
Some of the stakeholders that attended the inauguration include Hon. Egbonyi Daniel Stephen, Ward Relations Officer to Abi chairman;, Hon. Daniel Edet, PA to Leader of the Legislative Council; Hon. Peter Ikpabi, PA Environment to the Chairman; Hon. Emmanuel Godwin Ezeoke, SA Religious Matters to the Chairman; Hon.Ebong Pius Innocent,SA Revenue to the Chairman; and Agbor Ejar, Press Secretary to the Leader of Council.
THE BEAGLE NEWS
