Senate President Godswill Akpabio received Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno on Friday, just hours after Eno’s defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
Governor Eno formally joined the APC at a Government House event attended by several APC governors, including Hope Uzodinma (Imo), Francis Nwifiru (Ebonyi), Monday Okpehbolo (Edo), Babajide Sanwo-Olu (Lagos), Sheriff Oborevwori (Delta), and Bassey Otu (Cross River).
Akpabio was represented at the event by his wife, Unoma, who delivered a goodwill message on his behalf.
Read Also: Why I Moved From PDP To APC – Eno
Mrs. Akpabio told Eno, “You shall fear no one. Because you have a lion in the person of President Bola Tinubu and you have a lion in the person of the Senate President, who do you fear? Nobody. Fear nobody. God will protect you and your family. Don’t bother about what they would write. If it’s about what they would write, our own has filled the Geepee tanks up to 20, but we are not deterred.”
Hours after the formal defection, a video circulated on Facebook, posted by Akpabio’s former aide Ata Ikiddeh, showed Eno and other APC governors disembarking from a white coaster bus and being embraced by Akpabio at his private residence in Uyo.
In the video, Akpabio and Eno chanted the APC slogan before embracing.
Akpabio, who served as Akwa Ibom’s governor for two terms (2007-2015) under the PDP, later defected to the APC while serving in the Senate.
Similarly, Eno served as a commissioner in former Governor Udom Emmanuel’s cabinet before succeeding him in 2023.
Eno’s defection marks the first time a serving PDP governor in Akwa Ibom has joined the APC, making the PDP an opposition party in the state for the first time in 26 years.
Despite Akpabio not supporting Eno’s governorship ambition in 2023, Eno publicly congratulated Akpabio after he became Senate President.
Since then, they have maintained a political alliance, leading to Eno’s endorsement of Akpabio and President Tinubu for reelection in 2027, and his subsequent move to the APC.
See photos below:
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