Cross River State will honour four former civilian governors during the annual Christmas tree-lighting ceremony on November 30, 2025, an event that officially signals the start of the month-long Carnival Calabar.
The gesture, the first of its kind, was approved by Governor Bassey Otu.
The former governors to be recognised are Dr. Clement Ebri, Mr. Donald Duke, Senator Liyel Imoke, and Professor Ben Ayade. They are slated to receive the state’s highest Merit Honour for Leadership during the ceremony.
The event will usher in the 20th anniversary celebrations of the Carnival Calabar.
The ex-governors will have their names and statues permanently mounted on the Walls of Heroes at Millennium Park. They will also be presented with 24-carat gold Star Medals and other symbols of leadership excellence.
Each of the honourees is credited with notable contributions to the state’s growth— from Ebri’s stabilising leadership during the Third Republic, Duke’s tourism transformation, and Imoke’s infrastructure and social reforms, to Ayade’s industrialisation drive.
Their collective legacies form significant chapters in Cross River’s political and developmental history.
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