Governor Bassey Otu has clinched the APC governorship ticket for Cross River State. Officials announced his victory Friday at party headquarters in Calabar.
Samuel Yarnap, who chaired the primary election committee, confirmed Otu ran unopposed. He secured 116,038 votes across all 196 wards in the state's 18 local government areas.
Yarnap praised party members for keeping the process orderly and peaceful. "Other states had crises," he noted, "but Cross River had none."
The committee chairman commended voters during congressional exercises and primaries. He urged unity moving forward as the party prepares for general elections.
Otu addressed defeated aspirants directly in his acceptance remarks. "Let us come together," the governor said, "there is enough room for everyone."
He promised to govern without bias or favoritism. "My commitment is to move the state forward," according to him.
Yarnap called on losing candidates to back the party's nominees. Winners, he added, must remember they serve the people, not themselves.
Officials also released results for state and National Assembly primaries Thursday. Results showed similar orderly conduct across all three electoral tiers.
Party insiders attributed the peaceful primaries to strengthened internal cohesion. The exercise signals growing unity within Cross River's APC ahead of 2025.
