The Deputy Chief Press Secretary (DCPS) to the Cross River State Governor, Mr Edem Darlington, has tackled the former state chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Alphonsus Eba, describing him as a politician with zero political value and a “notorious liar.”
Speaking live from Calabar via Zoom on Global Television’s Big Talk programme, Darlington dismissed Eba’s recent media outbursts and claims of political leverage in Cross River as laughable attempts to cover up deep-seated personal complexes.
Reacting to Eba’s claims that he, alongside former Governor Ben Ayade, was instrumental in installing Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu as governor, Darlington urged the public to look strictly at election data rather than empty rhetoric.
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According to the governor’s DCPS, Eba’s track record during the 2023 general elections exposes his lack of real electoral worth. He pointed out that as a sitting state chairman of the ruling party during the 2023 election, Eba failed to deliver his own polling unit, his state constituency, his federal constituency, and his senatorial district.
Darlington revealed that when Eba eventually left the APC, his departure triggered no mass defection. “He left with only one person, which is his Personal Assistant,” he asserted.
“You respond to people who have political courage, who have political data… Let him show us the results of the 2023 elections. That’s how you know someone who has political capital. Mr. Alphonsus Eba is not worth responding to,” he declared.
Darlington further blasted the former party chairman for allegedly fabricating his political history during a previous studio appearance, openly challenging Eba to produce physical proof of his decades-long political career.
“He came to your studio and told all manner of lies. He said how he became a party member of the PDP in 1998. He’s a liar,” Darlington stated flatly. “What was he in 1998? We know those who were party members. Tell him to show you his party card in 1998 as a PDP member. Let’s open the records and see.”
Defending the administration’s track record ahead of the 2027 political cycle, Darlington painted a stark picture of the security landscape inherited by Governor Otu when he assumed office on May 29, 2023. He noted that the state had previously been crippled by a wave of high-profile kidnappings targeting medical professionals, university lecturers, and public officials.
“Before May 2023, medical practitioners left the hospitals and were on the streets of Calabar protesting for the safety of their colleagues. People were being kidnapped for ransoms as low as ₦10,000,” the DCPS stated.
He stressed that the current administration’s primary focus has been restoring law and order through aggressive financial commitments. “Today, under the watch of Prince Bassey Otu, we have heavily invested in security, and security is never cheap. Nightlife has returned to Calabar, and doctors who left the state have returned.”
Highlighting the administration’s mid-term achievements, Darlington listed significant interventions in infrastructure, healthcare, and economic recovery aimed at decentralizing governance beyond the state capital.
Among these projects is the construction of new government administrative buildings in Ikom (Central District) and Ogoja (Northern District). The administration has also equipped remote primary healthcare centers in Obudu and Obanliku with modern medical equipment, including ultrasound machines and oxygen kits.
On the welfare of civil servants, Darlington announced that Governor Otu has released a first tranche of ₦10 billion to clear outstanding retirement gratuities that had been neglected for more than 12 years.
Furthermore, the state government has officially recovered the Tinapa Business Resort, which had been under the control of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for 14 years due to unpaid debts.
“Courtesy of the prudent management of resources by this governor, Tinapa is back in the hands of Cross River State. The governor was able to pay up the debt owed to AMCON in billions of Naira – over ₦18 billion,” Darlington revealed. He added that a massive turnaround project for the resort is slated to begin within the next two months.
Other economic milestones highlighted include the addition of three new aircraft to the state’s aviation fleet, pushing the Obudu Cargo Airport past an 80% completion rate, and launching a statewide digital soil sampling project to attract agricultural investors. Darlington concluded by noting that specialized human capital training programmes are also underway through the newly established Ministry of Wealth Creation to ensure sustainable development for the state.
