Cross River State Assembly Moves to Protect Bakassi, Condemns Petition

Members of the Cross River State House of Assembly have condemned in strong terms, the agitation for the delisting of Bakassi, one of 774 local government areas in Nigeria.

The lawmakers also urged the internally displaced people of Bakassi local government area to prioritize cooperation, understanding and dialogue as tools for conflict resolution.

The Speaker of the House of Assembly, Elvert Ayambem described a petition sent to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu by a group known as the “Indigenous Displaced People of Bakassi communities” as a misnomer and facade.

According to Ayambem, the petitioners were urging the Nigerian Government to delist Bakassi from the 774 local government areas in the country, which was in itself treasonable and a threat to the stability of Cross River State and the country in general.

The Speaker, who also warned that the legislature would not condone attempts to blackmail or politicise sensitive matters bothering on the plight of citizens, reiterated the resolve of the assembly to ensure stability was maintained across the state particularly in Bakassi.

He further pointed out that “rather than routing the petition to the governor, the petition was addressed to the President despite the interventions of the Cross River State government in Bakassi. There is so much Governor Bassey Otu is doing to reposition Cross River State on the right trajectory. The interventions is enough to turn around the fortunes of this state.”

Ayambem recalled that “the Cross River State government under the former Governor Ben Ayade developed a multi-million naira house estate to properly resettle the displaced Bakassi people. Today, that estate is totally uninhabitable because of the level of looting and vandalism. The buildings constructed with Cross River State money were stripped bare, even to the roofs.

“The same faith befell the previous estate. However, Governor Otu has not stopped doing so much in the Bakassi region and distributing livelihood support facilities to households in the area,” he said.

Continuing, the speaker said, “Cross River State is our common heritage. No one local government is more Cross River than the other. No atom of self-interest will derail the progress the state is witnessing. Cross River State is on the right track.”

The member representing Bakassi state constituency, Eyo Bassey in a motion for calmness in the area during plenary, disassociated himself from the petition, stating that as the representative of the people, he was not consulted by any person or group of persons.

Co-sponsors of the motion also condemned the petitioners for circumventing established conflict resolution channels, describing the move as “an unfortunate disregard for protocol” and enjoined the people of Bakassi to keep faith with Governor Otu’s People First agenda.

The Assembly resolved to invite the petitioners for an interface with members and provide detailed explanation to the public on the matter and failure to appear would attract stiff actions.

The petition, which was also copied to the President of the Nigerian Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and the Senator representing Cross River southern senatorial district and signed by 13 persons including the former chairman of Bakassi local government area, Iyadim Amboni Iyadim dates back to January 2025.

Emmanuel Ukoh