Governor Bassey Edet Otu took office on 29 May 2023, inheriting what his administration described as an empty treasury, a heavily encumbered debt stock, and decayed infrastructure from the Ayade era. His People First agenda committed to road renewal, fiscal stabilisation, civil-service reform, healthcare, agriculture, and the revival of Calabar as a tourism hub. Over the first three years the administration registered measurable output on several fronts: IGR grew by 60.6 percent to N36.3 billion in the first twelve months and reached N46 billion by December 2024; N55 billion in inherited debts and contractual obligations were retired within the first year without new borrowing for that purpose; the 2024 budget of N296.98 billion (signed December 2023) allocated 61.6 percent to capital expenditure; the 2025 budget of N538.5 billion was signed on time, with a supplementary N104 billion added in 2025 raising total 2025 appropriation to N642 billion; and the governor claimed 127 km of roads completed by mid-2026 with state sources citing over 200 km at varying stages. Carnival Calabar was revived after what critics described as neglect under the prior administration, and the Obudu Ranch concession held by CIBA since 2017 was revoked in March 2025 over unmet obligations, with plans to restore the resort. Against these gains, the state's total debt stock stood at N381.97 billion at end-2024 per the state's own Debt Sustainability Analysis, and Fitch assigned a B- rating in January 2025 (later upgraded to B in May 2025) projecting debt could reach N880 billion by 2028 under an ambitious capital expenditure plan. Cross River ranked 34th out of 36 states in VAT remittances in Q1 2025. The University of Cross River State ASUU branch commenced an indefinite strike in May 2026 over unpaid salary-related allowances including welfare deductions of N2.154 million and cooperative deductions of N69 million since 2017, with Governor Otu having not responded to the union's letter at the time of writing. Over N54 billion in civil-service promotion arrears spanning more than seven years remain unsettled. The record is mixed: visible fiscal improvement and infrastructure starts are offset by a rising debt trajectory, low VAT performance, and unresolved welfare obligations in the public sector.