By Deborah Nnamdi
Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has announced his intention to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
In a widely circulated video, Eno revealed his plan to defect to another party where he can openly commend President Bola Tinubu’s efforts without being accused of anti-party conduct.
He noted that unlike FCT Minister Nyesom Wike, who is known for confronting internal party issues head-on, he lacks the strength for such battles.
Eno, who has consistently praised President Tinubu despite being in the opposition, cited the ongoing leadership crisis within the PDP and concerns over potential court challenges to his re-election as key reasons for his decision to leave the party.
Eno said: “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.
“As a PDP person, I love the PDP and want to stay in the PDP but I don’t have a road map that I would be guaranteed a smooth sail in the elections, not because we won’t win – 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.
“But we know that at the national level, our party is not coming together, every day we have issues, if you take your form and serve it to INEC and then you run all the elections and win 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.
“I love my party and at this stage, we are running like there is no party. The only agenda we run in our state is the arise agenda. 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.
“This is not the Americans that have the Democrats that have their ideologies. I want someone in Nigeria to tell me why this is where you are. The agenda we are pursuing is the arise agenda, and again, I support this president. I know very well that this president did not create this situation that we are in.
“I don’t know how to mince words; 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 clip-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.
“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 it, but that does not mean that I have nothing against our party.”
