Your Excellency, Senator Prince Bassey Edet Otu, Governor of Cross River State.
I write with a heart full of gratitude to sincerely appreciate you for the confidence, trust, and rare privilege of serving in your administration as a Son after your heart.
When Your Excellency appointed me as Commissioner for Information, you entrusted me with the important responsibility of projecting your vision, communicating government policies, and strengthening the interface between government and the people. Through that assignment, you gave me visibility, broadened my leadership experience, and afforded me the opportunity to contribute meaningfully to the success of your ‘People First’ administration.
Indeed, it is no surprise that Your Excellency gave me your unwavering support throughout my tenure at the Ministry of Information. With your encouragement and commitment, we embarked on the revitalisation of the Cross River Broadcasting Corporation (CRBC), laying the foundation for a more vibrant and effective public broadcasting system. Your administration also approved employment of Staff in rebuilding the Ministry and supported the complete overhaul and transformation of the State Newspaper Corporation into a modern, world-class publishing organisation that now meets international standards and is set to be commissioned on the 12th of August, 2026. These landmark achievements are clear reflections of your vision for institutional renewal and your confidence in those you entrust with responsibility.
Today, by redeploying me to the Ministry of Lands, Your Excellency has once again demonstrated your confidence in my capacity to serve. Beyond a redeployment, I see this as a strategic opportunity to deploy my professional knowledge, technical expertise, and administrative experience in a sector that lies at the heart of economic development and sustainable growth.
As a professional whose core competence aligns with land administration, planning, and development, I consider this assignment both an honour and a call to greater responsibility. I am inspired by your vision of building a prosperous Cross River State, and I am fully committed to translating that vision into measurable results.
I assure Your Excellency that the Ministry of Lands will be repositioned to become a major catalyst for economic transformation. We shall pursue innovative reforms in land administration, strengthen transparency, improve service delivery, attract strategic investments, and expand opportunities for wealth creation through effective land management.
Working in collaboration with relevant stakeholders and development partners, we shall initiate the development of new, well-planned layouts and modern urban communities across the three senatorial districts. We shall open up new growth corridors and create investment-friendly environments that will support housing, commerce, agriculture, tourism, and industrial development. We will also restore orderly physical planning in Calabar, Ikom, Ugep, Ogoja, Obudu, and other emerging urban centres, while ensuring that illegal developments, encroachment on drainage channels and public infrastructure, and unapproved construction are decisively addressed in accordance with the law and global best practices.
Land remains one of the greatest economic assets of any government. Under your visionary leadership, we shall unlock its immense potential through modern land administration, digital innovation, strategic partnerships, and sound urban planning. Our objective is to make Cross River State one of Nigeria’s leading destinations for investment by creating functional layouts, expanding planned cities, improving land accessibility, and guaranteeing transparency in land administration.
I pledge my unalloyed loyalty to your administration and reaffirm my unwavering commitment to delivering results that will justify the confidence you have reposed in me. By the grace of God, with your continued guidance and support, we shall build new layouts, strengthen our cities, protect government land assets, attract investments, and unlock the enormous economic potential of Cross River State for the benefit of our people and generations yet unborn.
On behalf of my family and the entire Boki nation, I say Thank you, Your Excellency.
I remain undoubtedly committed to the growth of this administration and beyond.
Erasmus Ekpang Ph.D, Anipr, Tifuh Commissioner for Lands Cross the River State.
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