By Okoi Obono-Obla
The House of Representatives is the second chamber of the National Assembly of Nigeria and the arm of government empowered to make laws for the peace, order and good governance of the Federal Republic of Nigeria on all items listed in the Exclusive and Concurrent Legislative Lists enumerated in the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
The House of Representatives was established in 1951 under the Macpherson Constitution. Under the Nigeria (Constitution) Order-in-Council of 1951, the former Central Legislative Council was abolished and replaced with a new central legislature known as the House of Representatives.
The House initially comprised 148 members: 136 representatives elected indirectly through the Regional Houses of Assembly, six special members nominated by the Governor to represent interests not adequately represented, and six ex-officio members, with the Governor serving as President. Of the 136 elected seats, 68 were allocated to the Northern Region, while the Western and Eastern Regions were allocated 34 seats each.
Cross River State and Representation in the House
Cross River State was originally created on 27 May 1967 as the South-Eastern State following the dissolution of the regional structure by General Yakubu Gowon’s administration. It was renamed Cross River State in February 1976 by the military administration of General Murtala Muhammed.
From its creation, the military held sway until 1979, when power was handed over to a democratically elected civilian government under the Second Republic. During this period, Cross River State, like other states in the Federation, sent its contingent of representatives to the House of Representatives.
That civilian government was terminated when the military seized power on 31 December 1983, ousting President Shehu Shagari. The Constitution of the Second Republic was suspended and the National Assembly, including the House of Representatives, was dissolved.
From January 1984 until 1992, the House of Representatives remained among the democratic institutions suspended by the military.
Under the transition programme initiated by General Ibrahim Babangida in 1989, a new House of Representatives was inaugurated in 1992 as part of the Third Republic. Cross River State, which retained its name after Akwa Ibom State was carved out of it on 23 September 1987, sent its contingent to that House.
That experiment was short-lived. On 17 November 1993, General Sani Abacha toppled the Interim National Government headed by Chief Ernest Shonekan, scrapped the transition programme, suspended the Constitution, and again dissolved the National Assembly.
Democratic civil rule was restored in 1999, and from then until now Cross River State has sent seven completed sets and one ongoing set of members of the House of Representatives to Abuja, covering the 4th to the 10th Assembly (1999-2027).
However, the focus of this profile will dwell exclusively on the eight people who are going to contest the House of Representatives elections on 16 January 2027 under the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
According to the final list of candidates released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on 9 September 2026, the eight APC candidates for Cross River State are:
Hon. Stella Oreme Ekpo – Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency
Hon. Peter Akpanke – Obudu/Bekwarra/Obanliku Federal Constituency
Hon. Victor Abang – Ikom/Boki Federal Constituency
Mrs. Blessing Egbara – Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency
Rt. Hon. Johngaul Lebo – Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency
Hon. Ngim Okpo – Akamkpa/Biase Federal Constituency
Hon. Effefiong Nta Eke – Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency
Rt. Hon. Joseph Bassey – Calabar South/Akpabuyo/Bakassi Federal Constituency
PROFILES OF CANDIDATES
1. Hon. Stella Oreme Ekpo – Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency
Hon. Stella Oreme Ekpo is from Yala Local Government Area. She served in the administration of Governor Ben Ayade as Commissioner for Local Government Affairs and was later appointed as a Commissioner in the Federal Character Commission, a regulatory body established under the Constitution of Nigeria to ensure compliance with the federal character principle, promote inclusivity, and guarantee that every section of the country is represented and has equal opportunity to benefit from the nation’s resources.
She resigned from that position early in 2026 to contest for the nomination as the candidate of the APC for the Ogoja/Yala Federal Constituency. She is likely to coast home to victory on 16 January 2027, taking into account the formidable structure the APC has in place in the constituency and the relatively weak bases of the PDP, NDC and ADC in the State.
2. The Returning Incumbents
Hon. Peter Akpanke (Obanliku/Obudu/Bekwarra Federal Constituency), Hon. Victor Abang (Boki/Ikom Federal Constituency) and Rt. Hon. Joseph Bassey (Calabar South/Akpabuyo/Bakassi Federal Constituency) are returning incumbent members of the present 10th National Assembly.
The fact that they have been given the opportunity to seek re-election for a second time means that they must have performed creditably and meritoriously, and gained the unflinching confidence and trust of their constituents and the leadership of the party in the State. They will definitely leverage their individual capabilities, capacity and the structures of the party to coast home to victory on 16 January 2027.
3. Mrs. Blessing Egbara – Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency
Mrs. Blessing Egbara is the APC candidate for the Obubra/Etung Federal Constituency and the second female in the APC contingent. She is no greenhorn in the matrix of leadership, having served as Commissioner for Humanitarian Affairs in the cabinet of Governor Ben Ayade. Pundits say she performed well in that role.
She is depending on the solid structure of the APC in both Etung and Obubra Local Government Areas to coast home to victory. I do not see anything on the ground that could cause an upset on 16 January 2027 in that constituency. Although the presidential candidate of the PDP is from Etung Local Government Area, which will make it a battleground, the fact that Obubra Local Government Area is larger than Etung and has 11 electoral wards may swing victory in her favour.
4. Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo – Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency
Rt. Hon. John Gaul Lebo is the candidate for the Abi/Yakurr Federal Constituency, which is a powerful bloc in the Cross River Central Senatorial District and is regarded as an intellectual hub in Cross River State. This fits very well with the intellectual acuity of Hon. Lebo, a lawyer with dazzling and impressive credentials.
He has deployed his legal expertise to make a powerful case for Cross River State to return to its previous status as a littoral, marine and oil-producing state, a status it lost through judicial pronouncements.
The loss stemmed from two key decisions: the judgment of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague on 10 October 2002 in the Land and Maritime Boundary case between Cameroon v. Nigeria, which ceded the Bakassi Peninsula to Cameroon, and the Supreme Court of Nigeria judgment of 10 July 2012 in the 76 oil wells dispute between Akwa Ibom and Cross River State, which held that Cross River had lost its littoral status and could not claim offshore oil wells.
It appears the injustice arising from these judicial pronouncements requires legislative intervention, and that is the strong field where Rt. Hon. Lebo, as an expert in international economic law and the international law of the sea, holds forte to get the National Assembly to correct the injustice Cross River State has suffered.
He is an experienced legislator, well-versed in the best traditions of parliamentary procedure, having served as a member of the Cross River State House of Assembly for 12 years and as Speaker between 2015 and 2019.
Abi/Yakurr has been a strong APC base dating back to 2019, when the APC won the seat which was then a PDP stronghold – an upset that was historic. There is little doubt that such tenacity will likely be re-enacted on 16 January 2027.
5. Conclusion: A Formidable Contingent
All in all, the APC in Cross River State parades candidates with solid records. Even though Hon. Ngim Okpo (Akamkpa/Biase Federal Constituency) and Hon. Effefiong Nta Eke (Calabar Municipality/Odukpani Federal Constituency) may not be as visible as the rest of their colleagues, they are great electoral assets and are well-grounded in their constituencies to secure victory on 16 January 2027.
They combine legislative experience, executive experience, gender inclusion, and grassroots popularity. On the strength of their individual capacities and the formidable structure of the APC in Cross River State, I predict that the APC may likely sweep all eight seats allotted to Cross River State in the House of Representatives.
