By: Monday Igwe Elemi
In the heart of Central Cross River, where campaign promises often vanish with the last stroke of election ink, one name continues to echo, not in rhetoric, but in results: Hon. Oden Ewa. As Honourable Commissioner for Special Duties and Intergovernmental Relations, and CEO/Chairman of the Green Economy, his tenure has quietly redefined governance and restored public trust in leadership.
From day one, Hon. Oden Ewa has never treated his office as a ceremonial post, it has been a platform for transformation. His actions are not shaped by political grandstanding, but by strategic thinking, people-first policies, and an unflinching commitment to tackling the pressing needs of the Central Senatorial District, and Cross Riverians at large. And the outcomes? Louder than slogans. Deeper than manifestos.
At the core of his agenda is education, the true bridge to sustainable progress. In an unprecedented move, Hon. Ewa secured 1,500 full scholarships for new intakes from Yakurr into the Federal Polytechnic, Ugep, covering a span of five years. This singular intervention has opened wide the gates of opportunity to hundreds of families, birthing a future workforce of engineers, artisans, and solution builders.
But he didn’t stop there.
He awarded 100 postgraduate scholarships across the district and facilitated 180 secondary-to-tertiary transitions, personally clearing outstanding school fees that once stood as walls before many young dreams. In a region where education had become a luxury, Hon. Ewa made it a right.
Then came health. Through his initiative, 1,500 constituents across all 66 wards of the Central District are now enrolled in free health insurance, fully funded with ₦18 million already paid. At a time when a simple ailment can ruin a family’s finances, Hon. Ewa has rewritten the story, restoring dignity, access, and peace of mind to the underserved.
But perhaps his most symbolic project is unfolding in Ugep, a region long held hostage by erosion, bad roads, and economic stagnation. Today, thanks to Hon. Ewa’s proactive leadership, the full asphalting of the Iddo Convent Village Junction to Okpakolo Farm Road in Lebolkom Biko-Biko is underway. Even more transformational is the ongoing construction of a gangetic bridge, to control decades-old gully erosion that once rendered the area impassable.
For years, traders, farmers, students, and entire communities endured isolation, watching their produce waste and their mobility stifled. Today, machines roll. Bitumen flows. Hope rises. What was once a forgotten stretch is becoming a lifeline, connecting communities, driving commerce, and reigniting local economies.
And here lies the deeper truth: Hon. Oden Ewa is not a senator. He holds no constituency allocation. He is an “ordinary commissioner”, yet his impact is nothing short of extraordinary.
Where others explain what they couldn’t do with budgets, Hon. Ewa simply shows what he has done without one. Where many wait for the next election to begin work, he began working without waiting. And now, the people, students, farmers, elders, youth, and women, have taken note. Gratitude is turning into quiet resolve. Admiration is shaping into widespread endorsement.
As 2027 draws near, there is a growing chorus among the people of Central Cross River:
“This is the kind of leadership we must entrust with greater responsibility.”
Indeed, Hon. Oden Ewa’s story is still being written, but every chapter so far is inked with purpose, compassion, and visible progress. And as the pages turn toward the future, one thing becomes clear:
When true leadership emerges, the people do not need to be persuaded, they simply rise in support.
Elemi, is a Mechanical Engineer, writes from Central Senatorial of CRS.
