Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has declared that only members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) with names in the party register will qualify for government contracts and appointments — a sharp departure from his earlier promise of bipartisan governance when he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Mr Eno made the declaration on 29 November while addressing select party elders at Ukana, Essien Udim — the home of Senate President Godswill Akpabio — signalling what appears to be a complete ideological surrender to the man he once politically opposed.
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“We’ve taken the party register, and we are going to look at it and see whose name is not there. Like you are aware, we’ve since dissolved the boards, and it was intentional because we cannot continue to carry the boards that are not loyal to the party,” Mr Eno told the gathering.
He added: “By the grace of God, we’d soon sit down and reconstitute the board using our party register.”
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This marks a stark shift from his promises in June — when he joined the APC — assuring Akwa Ibom people that governance would not be weaponised against members of other political parties.
A former minister of petroleum resources, Don Etiebet, a former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Okon Umana, a former senator, Ita Enang, were among the attendees at the meeting.
A governor under pressure
The meeting where Mr Eno made the remark was symbolic as the governor said that only 60 elders of the APC were invited, whose names, he said, were “extremely difficult” to arrive at.
Mr Eno opened his remarks with deference to Mr Akpabio. “We are here to honour you,” he told the Senate president, calling him the man who “has taken this party to the national level and has held on to it.”
He acknowledged that he had now “aligned fully” with Mr Akpabio’s long-standing demand for a tightly controlled APC structure in Akwa Ibom — a direction repeatedly canvassed by Mr Akpabio’s allies.
Whether Mr Eno was persuaded, pressured, or politically cornered remains unclear. But the shift is undeniable.
From bipartisan preaching to party purge
When he defected to the APC, Governor Eno publicly said development—not party identity—would unite Akwa Ibom and said political party is merely an instrument for seeking elected offices.
But at the meeting in Mr Akpabio’s country home, the governor declared the opposite: “Today, it is not news anymore that Akwa Ibom is APC and APC is Akwa Ibom. We may have very few dissenting voices, which is okay, but you know, those cannot make any difference because we are all here.”
To enforce this dominance, the governor issued a direct order to his aides: “Anybody who doesn’t want to belong to the APC should resign. You cannot serve me and do not belong to the APC.”
He warned that mere suspicion of disloyalty was grounds for dismissal: “Anybody who is caught or suspected will be fired.”
A new political covenant
Throughout his speech, Mr Eno sought validation from Mr Akpabio, saying he trusted the Senate president’s political leadership. He outlined conditions for hosting APC meetings, saying that such must be done with the approval of the party chairperson and the chairperson of the local government area.
“The only exception to that rule is the Senate president. Because I am confident that any meeting he will call is for my benefit,” he said, suggesting a lack of trust in other members of the party.
Addressing Mr Akpabio, the governor said, jobs would be distributed soon: “As we get into December and January, the secretary to the state government has compiled political jobs: inter-ministerial jobs based on your counsel, it will be given to the political leaders seated here.”
After Mr Eno’s defection, Mr Akpabio had, at an event in Government House, handed over the political leadership of the APC in Akwa Ibom to the governor. But at the event in Mr Akpabio’s country home, Mr Eno appears to have surrendered the leadership back to the Senate president under the guise of showing respect.
Two Saturdays ago, Mr Eno, who has been battling to establish control over the APC structure in the state, directed party members to converge at their local government headquarters, a gathering he tagged “Homecoming.” He briefed Mr Akpabio on the meeting’s outcome and sought his approval for a follow-up meeting.
“Because of how the last APC homecoming was successful, we are planning a Christmas meeting. With your approval and counsel, we want to hold it on 20 December so that Christmas rice will be taken to the local council headquarters for sharing with the villages,” Mr Eno said to Mr Akpabio.
READ ALSO; Akwa Ibom govt rejects blacklisting of Eno by IPI Nigeria
Party first, the people later
Mr Eno’s remarks raise critical governance questions — if appointments are based on party register, not competence, who protects merit, and if contract jobs are partisan rewards, where is accountability and due process?
In rounding up his speech, the governor told the APC elders to help build the party and not scatter it, adding that the youths who come to them for advice should not be told that the governor is stingy.
“All of you seated here have followership. You have young people who come to you. Please help us build, don’t scatter. When they come to report the governor to you, don’t say the governor is very stingy.
“When you tell that to the youths, they will go out there and amplify it and say more things. We are not building our party. If you notice anything wrong, you reach out to me, we can discuss it.”
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