Former Ayade’s Aide Calls for Voter Registration Sensitization as Cross River Trails Behind Southern States
Ezama, in a public appeal, stressed the importance of voter registration in strengthening Cross River’s political relevance at the national level.
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Former Ayade’s Aide Calls for Voter Registration Sensitization as Cross River Trails Behind Southern States
Former Special Adviser to Governor Ben Ayade on Education, Castro Ezama, has urged stakeholders in Cross River State to intensify efforts in mobilizing eligible citizens for the ongoing continuous voter registration exercise, warning that the state is lagging behind others in the South-South region.
Ezama, in a public appeal, stressed the importance of voter registration in strengthening Cross River’s political relevance at the national level.
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He noted that one of the major indices for political negotiation and influence remains voting strength.
According to statistics, Cross River currently has 1,766,466 registered voters — a figure that places it ahead of only Bayelsa State, which has 1,056,862 voters. In comparison, Rivers State leads with 3,537,190 registered voters, followed by Delta with 3,221,697, Edo with 2,501,081, and Akwa Ibom with 2,357,418.
“Cross River State should comfortably boast of three million eligible voters if we intensify our efforts,” Ezama said. “Let us put political differences aside and come together. The same number of voters should decide everything during elections.”
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He suggested that local governments, political parties, civil society groups, and media organisations collaborate to drive mass sensitization. Ezama also called on the Ministry of Information to deploy public address systems, radio jingles translated into local languages such as Efik, Ejagham, Bekwara, and Mbembe, and engage journalists and bloggers to spread awareness.
He further recommended that sensitization campaigns be integrated into community festivities to make the exercise more appealing to residents.
“Politics is a game of numbers,” Ezama emphasized. “The target should be three million for Cross River and nothing less. We can achieve it, yes we can!”
