A former senator, Ita Enang, has praised Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State for endorsing President Bola Tinubu for re-election in 2027, but declined to comment on Senate President Godswill Akpabio’s endorsement of Mr Eno for re-election.
Messrs Enang and Akpabio are members of Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), while Mr Eno is of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the country’s main opposition party.
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The three politicians are from Akwa Ibom, a state that has been governed by the PDP since Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999.
The governor and the Senate president recently endorsed each other for re-election in 2027, even while belonging to different political parties. In addition, Mr Eno is now backing President Bola Tinubu of the APC, to the disadvantage of his own troubled political platform, the PDP.
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The governor said he endorsed Mr Akpabio because the senator would likely be re-elected as Senate president, and Akwa Ibom would be better off.
Mr Enang, who represented Akwa Ibom North-East District from 2011 to 2015, was an APC governorship aspirant in Akwa Ibom in the 2023 general elections.
On 19 April, a PREMIUM TIMES reporter called the former senator to seek his comment on the rare political alliance between the PDP and the APC in his oil-rich South-south state of Akwa Ibom.
“I will not want to speak on it,” Mr Enang said immediately our reporter mentioned the interview topic to him.
The reporter then asked him for his take on Governor Eno’s endorsement of President Tinubu for re-election.
“Because of the performance of Mr President, I appreciate him (Eno) for that (endorsement),” he responded.
Afterwards, Mr Enang went silent for a few seconds, prompting the reporter to prod him: “Go ahead, we are listening, sir.”
“That’s all I want to say,” he responded.
“So, how about Senator Akpabio endorsing Governor Umo Eno for a second term?”
Again, Mr Enang was silent for about 10 seconds. And then he said, “Thank you very much, I will not want to speak on it.”
The former senator’s refusal to comment on Mr Akpabio’s endorsement of Mr Eno could be an indication that some APC chieftains in Akwa Ibom, especially those with governorship ambition, are either undecided or uncomfortable with the Senate president’s support for Governor Eno of the PDP..
Mr Enang had a bright chance of becoming the APC governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom in 2023, but was schemed out by some APC leaders in the state. Mr Akpabio’s friend, Akan Udofia, was instead brought from the PDP and made the APC candidate for the election.
Will Enang run for governorship in 2027?
PREMIUM TIMES spoke with Uduak Ikpat, an APC chieftain in Akwa Ibom and a political ally of Mr Enang, about the possibility of Mr Enang running for governor in 2027.
“It is a yes and a no situation for now,” said Mr Ikpat, a foundation member of the APC and political leader of the party in his ward at Etinan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom.
“He has not officially declared, but being one of the insiders, I can tell you he will contest, except there are last-minute changes.”
Our reporter reminded Mr Ikpat of Mr Akpabio’s endorsement of Governor Eno.
“APC is a political party. And to the best of my knowledge, APC has not spoken whether it will endorse a governorship candidate of another political party,” he responded.
However, Mr Ikpat commended Governor Eno’s style of politics, which he said “is the best.”
‘Akpabio’s endorsement of Eno represents the wish of APC’
In contrast with Mr Ikpat’s position, Otoabasi Udo, a lawyer and the APC spokesperson in Akwa Ibom, said Mr Akpabio’s endorsement of Mr Eno for re-election and the governor doing the same for Akpabio reflect the wish of the APC in the state.
“It is good for the state, it is good for our progress,” he told PREMIUM TIMES.
Our reporter asked Mr Udo if the APC would not field a governorship candidate in Akwa Ibom in 2027, going by Mr Akpabio’s endorsement of Mr Eno.
The APC spokesperson said that may be true “if we approach it from a deductive perspective”.
READ ALSO: 2027: New APC decampee, Gov. Oborevwori, promises Tinubu 1.4 million Delta votes
He said if that happens, Mr Enang’s interests and those of other APC members with governorship ambition “could be accommodated elsewhere” within the party.
Mr Udo, however, said the public had yet to hear the latest from Messrs Eno and Akpabio on the matter.
“One of them will likely empty himself into the other,” he said, referring to the speculations about the governor joining the APC. “If that happens, it is good for our party.”
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