Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, has likened himself to a political forerunner. He said he defected from the Peoples Democratic Party to the All Progressives Congress ahead of many of his colleagues who have since followed the same path.
Eno spoke in an interview with TVC on Friday. He addressed criticism that trailed his early exit from the PDP and explained the thinking behind his defection.
Eno cites practical necessity for defection
The governor said his decision was born out of practical necessity. He insisted there was nothing wrong with aligning with a party that can deliver funding for the state.
“You can’t be hungry all the time. Why don’t you reject it? The man has done well. Funds are coming. Allocations are coming. And we’re able to have funds to get to work for our people,” he said. “It was a decision well thought out.”
Eno said the presence of Senate President Godswill Akpabio in the APC also shaped his decision. He noted that remaining in a different party could have created a damaging contest for political control of the state.
“The Senate president is from Akwa Ibom,” he said. “I don’t see how we would have maintained the peace trajectory we are talking about with me in another party and the Senate president in another party.”
Eno foresaw PDP would not support re-election
On his exit from the PDP itself, the governor said he had foreseen that the party would not support his re-election bid. Many dismissed this position as premature at the time.
“I did not see through how the way my party then, the PDP, was going, who will endorse my form for a second term,” he said. “It’s one of the instincts of leadership — your ability to see the future where others can’t see.”
Eno noted that his prediction had since played out. Several governors elected on the PDP platform have also decamped to the APC.
“Today, you can see who is going to endorse these forms,” he said. “On which platform will I have run? Almost every serving governor, even second-term governors, have now left the party.”
Eno describes himself as trailblazer
The governor described himself as a trailblazer among his colleagues who later joined the ruling party.
“I said to them, I came like John the Baptist to prepare the way for you,” he said.
Eno added that leadership was ultimately judged by outcomes over time. He insisted that recent political developments in the country had vindicated his decision.
“What has happened today in this country should vindicate some of us,” he said.
Peace remains foremost priority
The governor said peace remained his foremost priority in office. He stressed that no cost was too high to preserve stability in Akwa Ibom.
“For me, you must know the trajectory you want to take your people,” he said. “First, there is no price I cannot pay for peace in this state. No price.”
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