Cross River State Governor, Sen. Bassey Edet Otu, has assented to three key bills aimed at strengthening social protection, curbing quackery in the healthcare sector and giving the government greater flexibility in managing public finances.
The Governor signed the Cross River State Social Investment and Protection Law, the Health Quackery, Prohibition, Law and the 2026 Supplementary Appropriation Law on Wednesday at the Governor’s Office in Calabar.
Otu said the new laws would strengthen institutional mechanisms for improving the welfare of vulnerable residents, protecting citizens from unqualified healthcare practitioners and ensuring that government finances remained responsive to emerging economic realities.
Speaking shortly after assenting to the bills, the Governor dismissed negative narratives about his administration on social media, saying the progress being recorded in the state demonstrated the commitment and capacity of government officials.
“Sometimes, when you go on social media, you see all manner of narratives,” Otu said. “But what we are seeing here today is a clear demonstration that there are people who are working and who are committed to the progress of Cross River State.”
He stressed the need for government to continually review its policies and programmes in response to changing circumstances.
“We cannot continue to do things exactly the same way when circumstances have changed,” he said. “Government must be dynamic enough to adjust, to review and to reposition its policies and programmes to meet the realities of the time.”
Otu said the prevailing economic environment required the state to continually align its development priorities and financial resources with broader macroeconomic realities.
“We have to ensure that there is a balance between our development aspirations and the economic realities that confront us,” he said. “That is why these adjustments and legal frameworks are important.”
The Cross River State Social Investment and Protection Law establishes a legal and institutional framework for the implementation and management of social investment and protection programmes targeted at improving the living conditions of poor and vulnerable residents.
The law also establishes the Cross River State Social Investment and Protection Agency and provides for its governing board, staff and financial provisions.
According to Otu, the legislation would provide a coordinated platform for tackling poverty and vulnerability across the state.
“Our responsibility as a government is to ensure that nobody is left behind,” he said. “This law gives us a stronger institutional framework to reach the poor, the vulnerable and those who genuinely require social protection and empowerment.”
The Governor also assented to the Cross River State Health Quackery (Prohibition) Law, which seeks to eliminate unlicensed medical practice and strengthen the monitoring and regulation of healthcare practitioners and facilities across the state.
The law establishes a Health Monitoring Task Force and provides for the registration and monitoring of practitioners, as well as stronger collaboration with law enforcement agencies to combat quackery.
Otu said protecting the lives and health of residents remained a fundamental responsibility of government, warning that unqualified persons had no place in the provision of professional healthcare services.
“We cannot compromise the health and safety of our people,” the Governor said. “Anyone who holds himself or herself out as a healthcare professional must be properly qualified, registered and competent to provide such services.”
On the 2026 Supplementary Appropriation Law, Speaker of the Cross River State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Elvert Ayambem, said Governor Otu presented the bill to the Assembly on July 21, 2026, to amend the principal appropriation law and provide for expenditure not contemplated when the original budget was passed.
Ayambem said the supplementary appropriation increased the state’s 2026 budget from N961.624 billion to N963.074 billion.
“This supplementary appropriation is designed to address developments and needs that were not envisaged at the time the principal appropriation law was enacted,” the Speaker said.
He added that the law would give the government flexibility to redeploy funds from dormant budgetary positions to areas of greater need, while accommodating additional revenue accruing from increased Federation Allocation to the state.
“Where funds are lying dormant and there are critical areas requiring intervention, government must have the flexibility to make the necessary adjustments,” Ayambem said.
The Speaker commended Otu for maintaining what he described as a constructive relationship between the executive and legislative arms of government, assuring that the Assembly would continue to provide the necessary legislative support for the state’s development.
