In May, a few days before Umo Eno’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June, the Akwa Ibom governor summoned his cabinet members and top politicians in the state to a crucial meeting at the Government House in Uyo.
Mr Eno, at the time, was under pressure from many who persuaded him not to abandon the PDP, which gave him the ticket to contest and become the fifth elected governor of the oil-rich state. Until Mr Eno’s defection, the PDP had been in power in Akwa Ibom for over two decades since the return of democratic rule in 1999.
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Ekerete Udoh, Mr Eno’s spokesperson, had invited reporters at the Government House Uyo Press Corps to cover the governor’s meeting with his cabinet members and other politicians.
At the meeting, Governor Eno told his audience, which included the Deputy Governor of Akwa Ibom, Akon Eyakenyi, and the Secretary to the Akwa Ibom State Government, Enobong Uwah, that his planned defection to the APC was no longer news.
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The governor appeared calm and humble. There was trepidation inside the hall, at least two journalists who attended the meeting told PREMIUM TIMES.
“By that time, most of the cabinet members and political leaders in the state were not comfortable with the governor going to APC. They were confused and afraid of their political future,” one of the journalists said.
“Don’t forget that these are men and women who have spent over 20 years of their political lives in the PDP,” he added.
A politician who was part of Mr Eno’s campaign told our reporter that there were fears whether the governor, “being very new in politics”, would be capable of managing the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio’s “unpredictability” – Mr Akpabio, a former governor of Akwa Ibom, was already in firmed control of the APC in the state before Mr Eno’s defection.
There were also concerns about whether Mr Eno has the political capacity to challenge his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, and others who would remain in the PDP.
The leaked video Gov Eno didn’t want Nigerians to see
Governor Eno, at the meeting, insisted he was leaving the PDP. He also insisted that the cabinet members and all other political appointees must follow him to the APC or resign.
There was silence in the hall. Mr Eno continued to speak. And then he dropped what was considered a bombshell.
“Contrary to insinuations that I want to run both parties, far from it. And what is wrong with being interested (in controlling the PDP)? We would not leave the PDP for thieves to come and hijack it and use it to fight against us,” Mr Eno told a bewildered audience.
“We will lead the structure of the party so that they can work together and stay so that people don’t come from outside and think Umo Eno has moved, let me come and hijack the party. No, let the structure of the party remain. They’ve done their congresses, let them run and let it be that they are there,” Mr Eno added.
Many in the hall looked at one another. They knew the governor had misspoken and that the comments would obviously haunt him.
After the meeting and sensing that Mr Eno’s remarks would definitely attract criticism, the governor’s spokesperson, Mr Udoh, quickly ordered all the correspondents at the press corps to suppress the story and not to publish the video clip of the governor’s remarks.
However, Channels Television published the video clip, prompting the governor to ban the station’s reporter, Christopher Moffat, and the cameraman, Kufre Ikpe, from the press corps.
IPI Nigeria steps in
Hours after the expulsion of the Channels Television crew, the International Press Institute (IPI) Nigeria contacted the Commissioner of Information in Akwa Ibom, Aniekan Umanah, who denied the incident.
IPI is a global organisation which campaigns against media suppression. It has its headquarters in Vienna, Austria.
After conducting its fact-finding investigation into the expulsion of the Channels Television crew from the Akwa Ibom Government House press corps, IPI Nigeria wrote a letter dated 25 September to Mr Eno, asking the governor to reinstate the journalists. The letter was delivered to Mr Eno on 2 October via a courier service.
“Since their (the journalists) exclusion, the people of Akwa Ibom State have been denied full access to independent coverage of the activities of their government. This undermines transparency and accountability, principles at the heart of democracy,” the IPI Nigeria told Mr Eno in the letter, which was signed by its President, Musikilu Mojeed, and the Secretary, Ahmed Ibrahim Shekarau.
Continuing, the IPI Nigeria told Mr Eno, “May we remind you that press freedom is guaranteed under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Expelling or barring journalists from covering the Government House or your administration’s activities constitutes a violation of this constitutional right, as well as of your oath to uphold and defend the Constitution.
“Access to cover the activities of the state government is a constitutional right of the press, not a privilege to be granted or withdrawn at will.”
IPI Nigeria ended the letter with a warning to Mr Eno: “Failure to recall the Channels Television crew without delay may result in your name and that of your administration being listed in IPI Nigeria’s Black Book, a record of officials, organisations, and individuals whose actions undermine press freedom, independent journalism, and journalists’ safety in Nigeria.”
The non-profit organisation told the Akwa Ibom governor that the black book would be shared with embassies, multilateral bodies, and international partners, and that it would trigger strong advocacy campaigns aimed at holding him, his administration, and other violators accountable both locally and globally.
PREMIUM TIMES learnt that Governor Eno received the IPI Nigeria letter. He forwarded it to his spokesperson, Mr Udoh, with the instruction that he should handle the matter.
When Mr Udoh contacted IPI Nigeria by phone regarding the matter, the organisation requested a formal response so that it could deliberate on it. Mr Udoh did not send any, prompting the organisation to blacklist Mr Eno on 2 December for serious violations of press freedom and democratic norms.
Governor Mohammed Bago of Niger State was also listed in the IPI Nigeria’s black book for ordering the closure of Badegi 90.1 FM, an independent radio station in Minna, on 1 August.
Inspector-General of Police Kayode Egbetokun was also listed for allowing a culture of impunity within the police force regarding journalists.
We’re ‘battle-ready’ against Eno’s critics – Aide
On 1 December, a day before IPI Nigeria announced that it had listed Mr Eno in its black book, the governor’s spokesperson, Mr Udoh, told journalists at a press briefing in Uyo that the administration was “battle-ready” to confront Mr Eno’s critics.
“Let me sound it loud and clear here that we are battle-tested media veterans,” Mr Udoh said at a media briefing on 1 December in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom capital, apparently referring to himself and other media aides—over 30 of them—to the governor.
“The political season may have started too early in Akwa Ibom, and let me say this, we will vigorously, decisively, and in the spirit of take no prisoners. I emphasise again, (we’ll) take no prisoners. We will defend the honour of the governor, his integrity, his good works against the merchants and purveyors of blackmail and mischief,” he added.
Mr Udoh said Governor Eno has come under “coordinated attack” on social media lately, and that those attacking the governor “are not motivated by the principles of common good”.
“Be careful of what you are doing,” he said of Mr Eno’s critics. “We are watching you.”
The press briefing was held at the Ministry of Information and chaired by the Commissioner for Information, Aniekan Umanah, who endorsed the outrageous remarks by Governor Eno’s spokesperson.
“You all know what is in the air. Just like he (Udoh) said, we are ready,” Mr Umanah said to the journalists present at the briefing, after Mr Udoh handed the microphone to him.
According to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, to take no prisoners is an idiomatic phrase which means to be aggressively harsh, tough, or relentless.
READ ALSO: ANALYSIS: Gov Eno’s cross-party promise in Akwa Ibom collapses under political pressure
Channels crew remained barred from Akwa press corps
The Channels Television reporter and cameraman remained barred from entering the Akwa Ibom Government House Press Corps as of 16 December, while the administration has launched a campaign of calumny against IPI Nigeria and its officials.
Mr Eno has been executing his vow to “lead” the PDP from outside: the PDP state secretariat in Uyo has remained locked and barricaded by the police under the governor’s instruction. Because of the governor’s backing, the sacked PDP executive in the state has refused to vacate office.
Sammy Etuk, a lawyer who campaigned for Mr Eno’s election in 2023, told PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Eno’s remarks, captured in the Channels Television video, portrayed the governor as being anti-democracy.
Mr Etuk said it was sad that Mr Eno, who benefited from an election which enabled him to become governor, is now trying to “kill” the PDP in Akwa Ibom to destroy competitiveness.
“You cannot stay in the APC, and you want to run the PDP because you want to destroy it,” he said.
