The 2027 governorship race in Cross River State has taken a sharper turn after the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Sir Arthur Jarvis Archibong, alleged that there was a plan to use cult groups to unleash violence before, during and after the election.
Archibong made the allegation while addressing journalists in Calabar on Wednesday, September 16, 2026, during a reaction to a recent advertorial which he said questioned his character and alleged that he had criminal records.
The PDP candidate rejected the allegation of criminality and challenged anyone with evidence of a criminal record against him to make it public.
Archibong also accused the state government and its supporters of engaging in what he described as personality-driven politics rather than focusing on issues affecting Cross River residents.
According to him, his campaign has remained focused on issues, while he alleged that the recent attacks against his personality were intended to undermine his growing acceptance across the state's three senatorial districts.
He further alleged that the state government was planning to deploy cult groups to cause unprecedented violence around the 2027 election.
“We are aware that this government is planning unprecedented violence through cultism before, during, and after elections,” Archibong said.
He also linked the alleged plan to what he described as an attempt to smear his reputation, insisting that he had no criminal record anywhere in Nigeria.
Archibong called for an issue-based political campaign and accused the government of allowing political disagreements to become personal.
However, the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in Cross River rejected the allegation, describing Archibong's claim of a plan to sponsor cult-related electoral violence as baseless.
APC State Publicity Secretary, Emmanuel Inyang, said the allegation was coming from a party that was not prepared to face the electorate. He also defended the APC administration's record and said the party remained confident in its support across the state.
The competing claims have added another layer to the political contest ahead of the 2027 Cross River governorship election. Archibong's allegation remains a claim by the PDP candidate, while the APC has publicly denied it. No independent evidence establishing the alleged plan was cited in the reports reviewed.
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