Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has responded to criticism of his administration’s decision to sack two political aides who attended the recent national convention of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The sacked aides are Joseph Jacob Ikpak, a senior special assistant to the governor on support services, and Felix Ekuri, a special assistant to the governor on Neighbourhood Watch.
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Since Mr Eno defected from the PDP to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in June, there has been widespread discontent among Akwa Ibom politicians, who feel that the governor has not only betrayed the party that brought him into power but has also thrown the oil-rich state into political confusion.
The governor has been struggling to manage political disloyalty from aides and politicians in the state, amid conflicts over the sharing of political positions between the APC members and those who joined the party from the PDP.
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“It is time for everyone who eats at the table of the king to stand up and be counted,” Mr Eno said on Tuesday during the swearing-in of a new Head of Akwa Ibom Civil Service, Elsie Peters, at the Government House, Uyo.
The governor’s remark was a reaction to the latest political tension in the state.
“Those who are not willing and ready to work with us, show loyalty to what we stand for and where we stand in this current dispensation, they are very free to leave. My appointees are called aides to the governor. They are expected to work closely with the governor and interpret his vision for the development of our state,” the governor added.
“What we will not tolerate is for people to believe that they can be in government and be working against the government, have the audacity to show up in places they are not supposed to show up and expect that there will be no consequence.
“Every action carries a consequence, and I say it again: either you carefully and quietly leave and will be glad to receive resignations than to stay inside and begin to rock the boat. We will not tolerate it, and that is the truth.”
Mr Eno, a pastor, referred to Matthew 6:24 in the Bible and stated, “No man can serve two masters”.
“Faithfulness and loyalty should be sacrosanct. It is non-negotiable. And this is not only an Akwa Ibom standard; it is a universal standard. So we are not reinventing the wheel here. Let me also say here that those who think they can try our resolve to maintain peace should have a rethink.
“And those who think we are weak in taking decisions should wake up because meekness will never be weakness.”
Sources within the Government House, Uyo, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that Governor Eno, apparently disturbed by the action of the sacked aides, has summoned all his political aides to an emergency meeting on Wednesday at the Government House.
“A notice for the meeting has already been sent out by the SSG,” a source within the governor’s cabinet told our reporter.
The source stated that there has been apprehension within the administration because of concerns that many officials, including commissioners, have remained loyal to the PDP and Mr Eno’s predecessor, Mr Emmanuel.
Ini Ememobong, who resigned his appointment as commissioner in Mr Eno’s administration rather than join the governor in the APC, was elected on Saturday at the PDP convention as the party’s national spokesperson.
Renowned journalist tackles Eno
A renowned journalist and a PDP chieftain in Akwa Ibom, Michael Bush, on Tuesday, weighed in on the sacking of Mr Eno’s aides, and said that the governor had deceived the people with his “Akwa Ibom United” political slogan.
Before defecting from the PDP to the APC, Mr Eno played down party politics, saying that political parties are “merely vehicles” for seeking elected offices.
At the time, Mr Eno had encouraged the PDP members in Akwa Ibom, including his administration officials, to accept, show respect, and work with the APC leaders and members in the state.
After his defection, the governor doubled down – integrating the phrase “Akwa Ibom United,” which he used to refer to governance across party lines, into the APC slogan in the state.
In September, during the controversy over the action of some of his aides who went to the Uyo airport to welcome his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, Mr Eno said, “We are running Akwa Ibom United. We respect our leaders across party lines, but that does not change the fact that I am in the APC now to support President Bola Tinubu and Mr Akpabio.”
When asked if his predecessor, who has remained in the PDP, was happy with him, Mr Eno said, “I will not fight my boss (referring to the former governor, Mr Emmanuel) or any leader”.
“We are in good terms,” he added.
In October, less than a month after Mr Eno’s remarks, the police withdrew security from Mr Emmanuel’s residence, on the governor’s order, indicating that the relationship between the two leaders had broken down.
Demand for apology
“Apologise today for the euphemism or rather the deceit you call Akwa Ibom United and go on to run your APC system because even the blind can see what you are doing from the pulpit of governance,” Mr Bush, the CEO of Bush House Nigeria, a media outfit in Uyo, said to Mr Eno in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, following the governor’s sacking of two of his political aides, on Monday, for attending the PDP national convention.
“The 2027 governorship poll in Akwa Ibom will be more than just an election. It will be a no-holds-barred referendum on light or darkness, honesty or deception and above all, on whether a traitor can be betrayed.
“The man in Government House, Uyo, needs neither supporters nor opponents for that election. What he needs, and he had better start conducting his housekeeping now, is a verifiable account of the stewardship that PDP foolishly offered him in 2023,” said Mr Bush, who was among the leading campaigners for Governor Eno in his 2023 election.
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