2027: C’River ‘Evidence Group’ Mobilises Mammoth Crowd for Civic Engagement

The streets of Calabar came alive on Saturday as a mammoth crowd of youths, women, elders and political supporters poured into the city for a solidarity walk organised by the Evidence Group, signalling an intensifying grassroots mobilisation ahead of the 2027 general election.

From the early hours of the day, the atmosphere around the procession was charged with music, colourful displays, dancing and political chants, as participants marched through major routes of the Cross River capital in an emphatic show of solidarity with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Bassey Edet Otu. At intervals, the crowd erupted into chants of ‘Four More Years for the Sweetest Prince!’, while others chorused ‘No Vacancy in Diamond Hill!’ in reference to the governor’s official residence.

The procession, which organisers described as a one-million-man solidarity walk, brought together supporters drawn from different communities and sections of the state, transforming parts of Calabar into a sea of movement, colour and political expression. The sheer size of the crowd, according to the organisers, underscored the growing appetite for grassroots participation as political activities begin to gather momentum ahead of 2027.

Beyond the political declarations, the organisers said the mobilisation was conceived to encourage citizens, particularly young people, to take a more active role in the democratic process, engage with issues affecting their communities and participate meaningfully in determining the leadership and direction of government through the ballot.

Speaking during the event, Director-General of the Evidence Group, Mr. Bassey Eyoma, said the massive turnout was a demonstration of the level of community support already building around the movement. “You can see the level of community support we are witnessing here. This is one of the largest we have ever seen. We have only just started, and this is the first major activity of this group,” Eyoma said.

He said the Calabar walk represented only the beginning of a wider mobilisation programme that would take the group to the Northern and Central Senatorial Districts and subsequently to all 18 local government areas of the state.

Eyoma said the movement would mobilise support for Tinubu, Otu and other APC candidates in the 2027 elections, declaring that the group was targeting what he described as an unprecedented electoral mobilisation. “We must deliver five over five. We are looking at giving the President about four million votes, and we must achieve that by mobilising the people and taking the votes to the polling units,” he said.

The DG also urged youths not to remain on the margins of the political process, but to convert their numerical strength into constructive civic participation, saying that the future of the state and country required young people to be actively involved in shaping it.

Representing Governor Otu at the event, the Deputy Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Hon. Sylvester Agabi, commended the participants for their confidence in what he described as the administration’s People First philosophy, particularly its emphasis on security and engagement with young people.

Agabi said the government had continued to make security a priority, attributing the reduction in cult-related clashes in the state to the administration’s security measures.

“The governor has done his best to ensure that security is given top priority in Cross River State. We no longer have the kind of cult clashes that were previously experienced in the State,” he said.

He urged the youths to sustain their unity and channel their collective energy towards constructive civic engagement, describing the Evidence Group as a platform through which young people could organise themselves and contribute to the development of the state.

“When the youths are united, we will be able to contribute meaningfully to the development of the State and support the efforts of the government,” Agabi said.

Also speaking, the Chief of Staff to the Governor, Dr. Emmanuel Ironbar, described the mammoth turnout as evidence of the enthusiasm generated by the movement and what he characterised as the positive impact of the administration on residents.

“Evidence, in the first place, is evidence of good living and evidence of the performance of our Governor, as well as the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria,” Ironbar said.

Ironbar noted that participants had travelled from different parts of the state to identify with the mobilisation, saying the procession provided an opportunity for supporters to express their views while also showcasing Calabar, its distinctive ambience and some of the routes associated with the city’s celebrated Carnival.

The procession repeatedly reverberated with chants of ‘Four More Years for the Sweetest Prince!’, ‘No Vacancy in Diamond Hill!’ and other slogans expressing support for Governor Otu, as participants danced and waved banners and insignia of the movement.

For the organisers, however, the spectacle was intended to be more than a colourful political procession. It was presented as the opening chapter of a wider grassroots campaign to awaken political consciousness, strengthen community organisation and encourage young people to move from being passive spectators to active participants in the democratic process as Nigeria approaches the 2027 elections.

With plans to replicate the mobilisation across the three senatorial districts and the 18 local government areas, the Evidence Group said the Calabar exercise was the beginning of a sustained engagement designed to take its message directly to communities and polling units across Cross River State.

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