Bassey Edet Otu
Website: https://dppib.cr.gov.ng
Office Date: May 2023
Address: Government House, Calabar
Birth Date: 18 October 1959
Birth State: Cross River State
Political Party: All Progressives Alliance (APC)
State: Cross River State
Bassey Edet Otu is a Nigerian politician who is the current governor of Cross River State since 2023. He previously served as senator for Cross River South from 2011 to 2015, and represented the Calabar Municipal/Odukpani constituency of Cross River State, in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011. On May 29, 2023, he was sworn in as the 18th Governor of Cross River State.
Born on October 18, 1959, in Adiabio, Odukpani Local Government Area of Cross River State, Otu spent a significant part of his childhood between Calabar and Jos, Plateau State.
He obtained a Bachelor's degree from the Faculty of Social Sciences at the University of Calabar. Prior to his foray into politics, Otu had a career in the banking and petroleum sectors.
Otu embarked on his political journey in 2003 when he was elected as a Member of the House of Representatives, representing the Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency. He was subsequently reelected in April 2007. During his time in the House of Representatives from 2003 to 2011, he held various important positions, including Chairman of the House Committee on Petroleum (Upstream), Vice Chairman of the House Committee on National Population, and membership in committees on Power, Ministry of Niger Delta, Inter-Parliamentary Relations, Inter-Intra Party Relations, Environment, Water Resources, and Defense.
Notably, Otu served as the Chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream). In this role, he led efforts to draft an amendment bill that aimed to reposition the Petroleum Technology Development Fund as a more effective vehicle for developing local content in the oil and gas industry.
In 2011, Otu was elected as a Senator representing Cross River Southern Senatorial District. During his tenure in the Senate, he served as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Finance and later as the Chairman of the Senate Committee on Banking and other Financial Institutions. Additionally, he was a member of the Committees on Navy, Power, Petroleum, and Water Resources.
In 2018, President Muhammadu Buhari appointed Otu to the board of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS). He is happily married to Eyoanwan Bassey Otu, and their marriage is blessed with children.
Otu emerged as the winner of the March 18, 2023 governorship election in Cross River State, securing a total of 258,619 votes. He surpassed Sandy Ojang Onor of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), who received 179,636 votes.