In politics, occupying a government position, winning a party primary and building a strong relationship with ordinary people are three different things. Sometimes, they work together. At other times, the real test comes when politicians take their message beyond party meetings and campaign grounds to the communities where voters live.
That is one of the issues worth examining as Cross River Central prepares for another senatorial contest in 2027.
Among the political figures attracting attention in the district are the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Oden Ewa, and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, John O. Ifere. This analysis focuses on their political journeys, grassroots activities and reported community interventions, without suggesting that they are the only candidates with a serious presence in the race.
Both men are entering the contest with different political backgrounds, different experiences and different stories to tell the people of Abi, Boki, Etung, Ikom, Obubra and Yakurr.
But the central question goes beyond their party affiliations: what evidence exists of their connections with ordinary people, and how have those relationships developed over the years?
In grassroots politics, the answer is not always found in the size of a political rally or the number of influential people standing behind a candidate. It can also be found in community relationships, personal contact with the people, assistance given to struggling families, support for young people and the ability to remain connected to communities outside election periods.
For Oden Ewa and John Ifere, these are important areas that voters will have to examine as the contest approaches.
Oden Ewa's political journey has taken him through government and party structures. He served as Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Affairs under Governor Bassey Otu and later became Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Cross River State Green Economy Commission.
These positions gave him opportunities to work within government, engage political stakeholders and participate in the administration of state affairs.
His experience in government is one of the major points his supporters can present to voters. It also provides him with an understanding of how government institutions operate and how political relationships can be used to pursue development projects.
His emergence as the APC candidate followed the party's 2026 senatorial primary. A report published by Chat Afrik stated that Ewa secured 32,426 votes in the primary, defeating Senator Eteng Jonah Williams and other contenders. The report also discussed the disagreement surrounding the primary process, showing that the outcome became a subject of political debate.
However, winning a party primary and winning the confidence of the wider electorate are two different things.
The APC primary result demonstrates his support within that particular party process. It does not, by itself, establish how popular he is among voters across all six local government areas.
The next question is how effectively that political support can translate into relationships with ordinary voters, including people who do not belong to the APC.
On the community development front, reports have highlighted activities associated with the Oden Ewa Foundation, including scholarships for students and borehole projects. A recent political commentary also reported that the foundation had supported more than 200 students at the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, and that borehole projects had been commissioned in communities in Yakurr and other parts of the district. These claims deserve consideration, although independent verification of the number of beneficiaries and the geographical spread of the projects would provide a clearer picture of their overall impact.
Such interventions matter because access to education and clean water remains important to families in rural communities.
For the APC candidate, the challenge is to demonstrate how far these interventions have reached, how many people have benefited and whether the activities have established lasting relationships with communities beyond the immediate beneficiaries.
A project in one community may bring relief to residents there, but a senatorial contest involving six local government areas requires a wider assessment of community engagement.
John Ifere's political journey has followed a different path.
An entrepreneur with interests in logistics, maritime services and real estate, Ifere entered partisan politics by contesting the Yakurr/Abi Federal Constituency seat in the 2023 general election on the platform of the Labour Party.
Although he did not win the election, that contest marked an important stage in his political development. It provided an opportunity to introduce himself to voters, build political relationships and experience an electoral campaign before emerging as the PDP's candidate for Cross River Central in 2027.
His transition from the Labour Party to the PDP also forms part of his political story. The important question for voters is how he has maintained or expanded the relationships established during his earlier campaign and whether those relationships now extend meaningfully across the six local government areas.
Ifere's published profile states that he was born in Iyamoyong, Obubra Local Government Area, and has roots in Ugep, Yakurr Local Government Area. He holds a degree in Marketing from the University of Calabar and has worked in logistics and other business sectors.
His business background offers a different route into public service from Ewa's experience in government appointments.
For a district where many young people are looking for jobs, traders are trying to grow their businesses and farmers are searching for better markets, a candidate's understanding of enterprise and employment is relevant.
However, business success and political popularity are not the same thing. A candidate must still show how his experience has translated into measurable benefits for ordinary people and how those benefits extend beyond personal or business networks.
Ifere's campaign materials identify community development, youth skills, scholarships and water projects among his areas of intervention. His published platform also refers to work involving the paediatric unit at Ugep General Hospital and support for young people and families. These are claims that can form part of an assessment of his community record, but the details, funding, completion status and number of beneficiaries require independent confirmation before their full impact can be established.
The central issue, therefore, is not simply which candidate has announced more projects. It is which projects have been completed, who has benefited, how widely the benefits have spread and whether communities can independently confirm the results.
This is where the grassroots question becomes more interesting.
In Boki, for instance, voters may want to know how frequently each candidate has visited communities, supported local initiatives, engaged traditional and community leaders and responded to issues affecting residents. Similar questions apply in Ikom, Etung, Obubra, Abi and Yakurr.
These are not questions that can be answered adequately by looking at campaign photographs or statements released by political supporters.
A candidate may enjoy strong relationships with party leaders but still need to demonstrate wider acceptance among ordinary voters. Another may have personal relationships in several communities but still need to show that those relationships are broad enough to support effective representation across the district.
For Oden Ewa, his government experience and position within the APC provide important political advantages in terms of familiarity with public administration and access to established party structures. The question is how those advantages will translate into sustained community engagement and public confidence.
For John Ifere, his previous electoral experience, business background and stated community-development activities provide a foundation on which he can build. The question is whether he has developed sufficiently broad and verifiable relationships across the six local government areas to demonstrate a district-wide grassroots presence.
Neither background automatically guarantees stronger grassroots support.
The political history of Cross River Central also makes it important to distinguish between support for a candidate personally and support for the party he represents. Some voters may remain loyal to their parties, while others may judge candidates by their previous activities, accessibility and promises for the district.
There are also differences between popularity at the ward level, support among young people, acceptance among women, relationships with traditional institutions and recognition among traders, farmers and other working people.
A proper comparison should examine these groups rather than assume that a candidate's strength in one area represents the opinion of the entire senatorial district.
The six local government areas also have different needs. Communities in Boki may place particular attention on roads, agriculture, rural markets and access to public services. In other parts of the district, voters may be more concerned about healthcare, education, employment, water and infrastructure.
The candidate who can demonstrate a clear understanding of these different needs will have important questions to answer about how that understanding would shape his representation in the Senate.
There is another issue that should not be overlooked: what happens after elections?
Grassroots politics is not only about visiting communities when votes are needed. It also involves maintaining communication, listening to complaints, supporting practical solutions and giving residents a clear account of what has been achieved.
For both candidates, voters can reasonably ask for evidence of how often they have engaged communities outside campaign periods, what commitments they have fulfilled and how they intend to remain accessible if elected.
The same standard should apply to both men.
At this stage, publicly available information establishes that Oden Ewa has held government positions, secured the APC nomination and been associated with reported community interventions. It also establishes that John Ifere previously contested a federal constituency election, has a business background and is presenting community-development initiatives as part of his political platform. What remains less clear is the comparative scale of their grassroots networks, the consistency of their engagement across all six local government areas and the independently verified reach of their interventions.
That gap matters because grassroots strength cannot be measured reliably through political publicity alone.
The 2027 contest presents an opportunity for the people of Cross River Central to examine the records of both candidates, ask questions about their community projects and judge their claims against evidence.
For Oden Ewa, the task is to show that government experience, party organisation and community interventions have translated into broad and lasting relationships with the people.
For John Ifere, the task is to demonstrate that his business experience, previous electoral journey and community-development platform have produced equally concrete and geographically widespread benefits.
Ultimately, the contest is about more than APC against PDP. It is about representation, public trust and the ability of a senator to maintain a meaningful connection with the people he represents.
The most useful question for voters is therefore not simply who has the louder campaign or the more powerful political supporters.
It is this: across Abi, Boki, Etung, Ikom, Obubra and Yakurr, what verifiable evidence can each candidate present to show that he understands the people, has contributed to their communities and is prepared to remain accountable to them?
That is the grassroots test facing Oden Ewa and John Ifere as Cross River Central looks towards 2027.
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