‘I don’t know whether I'll be in PDP or APC tomorrow,’ Eno says amidst defection rumours

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State is closing in on actualising his rumoured defection plans. He says he does not know his next political platform, but promised to remain a governor connected to the people, regardless of his future political party.

Mr Eno stated this on Sunday at a Thanksgiving Service organised in his honour at The Apostolic Church, Maboju Assembly in Lagos State.

He, however, said his statement does not mean he was going anywhere.

“I don’t know where I’ll be tomorrow, whether PDP, APC, or YPP. These are just for political convenience and enlightened state interest. But it will never define who I am.

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“I will remain a governor connected to the people, regardless of party. I will continue to unite all our parties, regardless of where God will take me to. That is not to say I am going anywhere,” he said.

“But I’m saying that,” he added, before throwing in a chorus of a popular Christian hymn, “Oh, the future lies before me,” as a complement.

Flanked by his children and assisted by the congregants, Mr Eno carefully choreographed the lyrics of the hymn, drawn from the Bible in James 4:14.

“Oh, the future lies before me,

“And I know not where I’ll be,

“But where’er my path be leading,

“Saviour, keep my heart with thee.”

Continuing, he told the people not to be afraid, urging them to understand the signs of the time, and cited the sons of Issachar, the Bible figures reputed for being able to read their circumstances and respond wisely.

“So, there is no need to be scared. Those of you in politics know that there are no two elections that are the same, that people must always understand. We are the children of Issachar.

“The children of Issachar were given to understanding the times and seasons. And we must clearly understand the time and seasons so that we do not swim against the tide.

“I’d like to stop there, but he that has ears, let him hear what the spirit says to the church,” he said, echoing a phrase that signifies the ability to receive and understand spiritual truth.

Why I will never dishonour Udom Emmanuel – Eno

Mr Eno was accompanied to the service dubbed “homecoming” by dignitaries, including political associates, and entrepreneurs. He previously served in different capacities in the church before relocating to Akwa Ibom in 1995.

The governor likened his visit to the church to that of a Biblical figure, Jacob, who returned to Bethel where he thanked God for visiting him.

He narrated how “one little girl” in the church in 1980 prophesied, calling his name “Umo Eno for your labour of love, for everything you are doing I’ll return you to your homeland and you’ll be a governor of my people,” and that he got up and told his mother he wanted to use the convenience and never returned.

“I thank God there are witnesses,” he said, referring to the people who witnessed the prophecy.

“True to the prophecy of that lady, I relocated home, and that was the beginning of that journey. I never look forward to it. I never expected it until God’s appointed time. God touched the heart of my political father, Udom Emmanuel,” he said.

Mr Emmanuel, who was the governor of the state from 2015 to 2023, had appointed Mr Eno as commissioner in his cabinet before unveiling him as his preferred successor.

Against all odds, Mr Emmanuel deployed the state apparatus to ensure his preferred successor won the election, a gesture Mr Eno acknowledged in his remarks at the service.

“That’s why I will never dishonour Mr Emmanuel. If you expect that I’ll do that, take everything you want to give to me. God used him to fulfil that prophecy, which was given in this church.”

Mr Eno said, having stayed in office for two years, “The Lord laid it strongly in my heart to return to Bethel to renew the covenant on this altar to tell God this is where you first met me.”

Akwa Ibom united than I met – Eno

The PDP has governed the oil-rich Akwa Ibom since Nigeria returned to democratic rule in 1999.

In Akwa Ibom, winning the PDP ticket has always been like winning a general election, prompting its members to label the party a “religion” in the state.

Unlike his predecessors, Mr Eno has embraced members of the opposition APC in the state, particularly the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, and the Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas), Ekperikpe Ekpo.

He has also endorsed President Bola Tinubu and Mr Akpabio for a second term in office, a move considered anti-party.

The governor has repeatedly said he was running an “all-inclusive unitary government” across party lines, emphasising that political parties are vehicles to contest elections but not to govern the state.

Mr Eno reiterated this on Sunday at the service, which was attended by Mr Ekpo, with the Senate president and Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, represented at the ceremony.

But his predecessor, Mr Emmanuel, whom he referred to as his “political father,” was absent from the event. Mr Eno, in his remark, explained why his deputy, and his first daughter, who is the Coordinator of the Office of the First Lady, were absent at the event, but made no mention of Mr Emmanuel and his wife, Martha, who were also absent at such an important event amidst speculations that Mr Emmanuel has declined to join his successor to the APC.

A source, who attended the service, confirmed to this newspaper that Mr Emmanuel was absent and not represented. “He was in Abuja for an expanded PDP meeting,” the source said.

“Yes, maybe he (Mr Eno) didn’t invite him (Mr Emmanuel) because he said he wanted to do a quiet Thanksgiving, but ended up being a big one,” said the source who preferred to be anonymous.

“The relationship is frosty, but they’re both trying to manage the situation,” the source added, when pressed further on why APC leaders, Messrs Akpabio, Sanwo-Olu, and Mr Ekpo, were invited.

Meanwhile, Mr Eno told the congregants that one of the key takeaways of his administration is that Akwa Ibom is more united than he met it.

“That is the legacy I believe we can leave by the grace of God. That, in this hall today, we can find people from different political parties sitting together. Before I came on board, that never happened. And I challenge anybody to tell me where it happened.”

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He said before he became governor, the PDP and APC members were not talking to each other, or patronising each other’s businesses for fear of being reported to party authorities. He reminded the people that in his inaugural speech, he promised to “pursue the ministry of reconciliation, and by the grace of God, we have tried to live up to that bidding.”

“Today, we can sit in church with a Senate President and a minister who are APC members. We are shaking hands and talking. It is only in the place of unity that God will command his blessings,” he said.

As a Thanksgiving for God’s faithfulness to his family, Governor Eno, announced the donation of a Coaster Bus, a 60KVA Generator, and over N200 million to the church where he worshipped as a child before returning to Akwa Ibom to begin a new Church, All Nations Christian Ministry International try and set up a company, Royalty Group.