Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has announced his intention to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), citing ongoing leadership challenges within the party and his desire to openly support President Bola Tinubu’s administration without facing accusations of anti-party activities.
In a viral video statement, Eno revealed that his decision to depart the opposition party was primarily influenced by the persistent leadership crisis plaguing the PDP at the national level. The governor expressed frustration with an environment where he could not freely commend the work of President Tinubu without violating party guidelines.
“It’s no more news that I’m leaving the party. If you don’t know that by now then I don’t know what else you know,” Eno declared in the video. He emphasized his love for the PDP while acknowledging the challenges that made his continued membership untenable.
The governor explained that despite his affection for the party, he could not see a clear roadmap for a smooth electoral process under the current circumstances. “As a PDP person, I love the PDP and want to stay in the PDP but clearly I don’t have a road map that I would be guaranteed a smooth sail in the elections,” he said.
Eno expressed confidence in his electoral prospects regardless of party affiliation, stating that his administration’s achievements in Akwa Ibom State would secure victory even under a lesser-known political platform. “In this state today, with the work that we have done, even if we contest on a zero party, we will win this election because we have worked very hard,” he asserted.
However, the governor highlighted concerns about potential electoral complications at the national level, referencing scenarios where candidates could lose elections due to improper documentation or signatures from unauthorized party officials. “If you take your form and serve it to INEC and then you ran all the elections and won and then you lose because the wrong person signed your forms, you lose everything. I’m not going to be stupid to stay doing that,” he explained.
Eno drew comparisons between himself and the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Nyesom Wike, acknowledging that he lacks the political boldness and confrontational approach that Wike displays when challenging party leadership. “I don’t have the kind of strength Wike has who will confront anybody. I’m a very simple man by nature, I just say it the way I’m convinced to say,” he admitted.
The governor challenged the notion of clear ideological differences between Nigerian political parties, arguing that unlike the American political system where Democrats and Republicans have distinct ideologies, Nigerian parties lack such clear distinctions. “No party in this country has clear ideological differences. I challenge anybody to a debate to show me the ideological differences of parties in this country,” he stated.
Regarding his support for President Tinubu, Eno explained that his conviction about the president’s leadership made it difficult to remain in an opposition party. “I support this president. I know very well that this president did not create this situation that we are in,” he said, adding that he preferred to join a party where he could openly acknowledge the president’s achievements without being accused of anti-party behavior.
“I can’t be in the PDP today and supporting a president of another party, it will be clearly in violation of party guidelines. I don’t know how to flip-flop. So if I’m supporting the president let me go to where I can state the things he has done. I don’t want to practice anti-party,” Eno concluded.
The governor’s departure represents another significant blow to the PDP, which has been grappling with internal divisions and leadership disputes since losing the 2023 presidential election. His decision to leave the party while citing support for the incumbent president suggests a potential defection to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), though he did not explicitly state his next political destination in the video statement.
