…Says only a very few individuals enjoying government
The governorship candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Cross River, Sir Arthur Jarvis Archibong, has launched a blistering attack on the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) administration, accusing it of total neglect of the citizenry and running a government for a select “cartel.”
Archibong made this remarks in his acceptance speech following his victory at the party’s governorship primary election in Calabar on Sunday, May 24, 2026. He declared that Cross River has been “bedeviled by very poor leadership” and that ordinary citizens have been left to bear the brunt of the decay.
“Our situation as a state is very sad,” he lamented. “And in this sadness, the people, our brothers and sisters, our fathers and mothers, in fact our children, even those unborn, are the victims for it. We are responsible for the mess that we are seeing in our state.”
READ ALSO: Ward 9 Rallies for Tinubu: Orok Duke Urges Unity and Continuity in Calabar South
Criticizing the infrastructure projects of the incumbent administration led by Governor Bassey Edet Otu, the PDP candidate characterized them as “infantile projects” driven by personal ambition rather than public good.
“In business, we call those projects infantile projects, because nobody cares about the people,” the PDP candidate stated. “Nobody has been able to create visionary projects that concern the people. Nobody cares about the people. People just come in, take your resources, turn it into their own empire, and get out of the state without any problem.”
He further alleged that the benefits of the current administration are restricted to a tiny, exclusive circle.
“You can only count them on one hand, those who are benefiting from this government. Just three or four people. And it is a cartel. Who cares about you? Who cares about me?”
He maintained that the growing dissatisfaction cuts across party lines, claiming that even members of the ruling APC are eager for change. He extended an open invitation to defectors to return to the PDP, promising they would be received “like royalties.”
Archibong called for a united front that transcends partisan politics, urging citizens to treat the upcoming election as a rescue mission for Cross River State. Comparing the state’s slow growth to the rapid development in neighboring states like Akwa Ibom and Abia, he insisted that a visionary leader can turn the tides within a single year.
“This movement that we are going to see is not going to be about party. It’s going to be about people. Nobody will discuss party, we’re going to discuss people,” he said. “The truth is that if they had done well, I don’t think we would have even been here standing today… Akwa Ibom has taken over completely from us. We are at that end of the world just because of our leaders.”
Corroborating the candidate’s position, the state chairman of the PDP, Barr. Venatius Ikem, questioned the impact of Governor Otu’s four years in office, arguing that the administration has failed to deliver meaningful development beyond surface-level projects in the state capital.
Ikem noted that, “For four years, the highest we have seen is that he has covered some potholes in Calabar. The other one I hear is that he renovated the library on the highway. Apart from those projects on the highway, I’m yet to know what else he has done as governor.”
The party chairman asserted that the state is ripe for a takeover, revealing that his phone has been inundated with calls from APC stalwarts and government appointees who are secretly backing the PDP’s comeback bid.
According to the result announced by Dr Clinton Chika, chairman of the PDP governorship primary election committee, Sir Arthur Jarvis Archibong, who was the sole aspirant, polled a total of 10,130 votes to emerged governorship flag bearer of the PDP.
