BY OUR CORRESPONDENT – The coming days are likely to reveal the truth behind claims that the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, has threatened all commissioners and political appointees in the State to either join his defection train to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), or quit from their positions in the cabinet.
Insider sources hinted that Governor Eno reportedly issued the veiled threat during the State Executive Council (EXCO) meeting on Thursday, where he confirmed his decision to abandon the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the APC.
It was gathered that the Governor made it clear at the meeting that his defection should come as no surprise to any of his appointees in the coming days due to evolving political developments in the country.
One of the insider sources quoted Governor Eno as telling the attendees at the meeting: “Anybody who claims he is not aware of my intention to leave the PDP is still living in the 18th century.”
Claiming that the governor said his decision to join forces with the APC administration was driven by the admiration for President Bola Tinubu’s leadership style, the source said also the meeting that his interest is to work more closely with the Federal Government for the overall benefits of the State.
Consequently, it was gathered the governor warned all political appointees that there was “nothing to negotiate” with anyone unwilling to follow his political direction.
“Apart from elected officials like House of Assembly members and Local Government Chairmen, I have nothing to negotiate with you,” Eno declared, adding; “Let me tell you, anybody who believes that when I leave the PDP he will use the party structure to fight me is lying, because I will still control the PDP structure.”
The source said, “For now, many people are only waiting for His Excellency to officially make the defection announcement, and we will see what follows after that. But all one can say is that serious state-wide stakeholders’ consultations are still ongoing to put finishing touches on the planned move that would further shake the political foundation of the South-South geo-political zone.”
Meanwhile, most members of the State Executive Council (SEC) are keeping sealed lips over the matter, which some of them described as a “dicey situation” as the clock continues to tick for the governor and his aides.
However, as claimed by most insiders, Governor Eno may likely make the move out of PDP on June 6, thereby bringing to an end about 26 years of the Party’s stranglehold on the Akwa Ibom State political scene.
Recently, the governor was also in the news after warning that Commissioners and other political appointees who abandon him at venues of official engagements or his entourage would henceforth have themselves to blame for gross insubordination.
