Akwa Ibom Governor Explains Defection from PDP to APC After Six Months of Consultation

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has revealed that his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) followed six months of extensive consultation with stakeholders.

Speaking during an interview with Channels Television on Tuesday, the governor said his move was guided by political realities, stressing that Akwa Ibom could not afford to remain in opposition, particularly after producing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

“I consulted for six months before moving; I didn’t just wake up and decide to move,” Eno explained. “We have stayed in the opposition for so many years.

There are enormous benefits to align with the centre. First of all, we have a Senate President in this country who is from here, and we have to give him the support to be able to help.

We can’t have the Senate President in another party while we are here in the opposition. You know how politics plays out here — it will keep whipping up sentiments.”

The governor expressed strong confidence in the leadership of President Bola Tinubu, noting that his administration inherited a battered economy but has embarked on reforms aimed at economic recovery.

“I believe in the programme of Tinubu – this economy was battered and we were really low by the time he took over power,” Eno said.

“We have seen the efforts he is making, the reforms he is implementing, and he should have our support. State governments, I speak for Akwa Ibom, have benefitted from those reforms, and that is why we have the funds to do what we are doing.”

Eno added that his political stance was driven by the need to work with a responsive federal leadership.

“If somebody is doing well, you say he is doing well, and if he is not doing well, we say he is not doing well.

If I can see him, discuss our issues, and he listens to them and helps us where he can, why should I work against the President?” he queried.

The governor’s defection marks a significant political shift in Akwa Ibom, which had been under the control of the PDP since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.