"I don't want to be an orphan, and so please don't walk away."
The Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, has appealed to his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, not to "walk away from governance" even though he has completed his tenure and handed over to him.
Mr Eno said this on 29 May at the Godswill Akpabio International Stadium, Uyo, in his inaugural speech as the fifth elected governor of Akwa Ibom.
Mr Eno was Mr Emmanuel's preferred successor among several other governorship aspirants in the Peoples Democratic Party.
Governor Eno described Mr Emmanuel in his speech as his "political father" and a "worthy predecessor". He called Mr Emmanuel's wife, Martha, "our campaigner-in-chief" and thanked her for her "extraordinary support".
Mr Eno acknowledged that the former governor helped him to become his successor against all the odds.
"To my political father, I know you will always avail us anytime we knock on your door for your wise counsel," he said to Mr Emmanuel.
"You have said many times that after today (29 May) you will walk away from governance. Your Excellency, no one, no good father gives birth to a baby and abandons the baby. I don't want to be an orphan, and so please don't walk away."
The camera panned immediately to the former governor, as he and his wife beamed with smiles.
"We will still need your wise counsel, we will still need your assistance and your guidance," the governor added while thanking Mr Emmanuel for his "great service" to Akwa Ibom.
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Governor Eno thanked all the previous governors of Akwa Ibom, including Godswill Akpabio, for the foundation they laid for the state which he said has enabled the state to "rise".
"One government after the other, you place the state on a different pedestal. We pay tributes to you and we acknowledge your services. Akwa Ibom State will forever be grateful to you," he said.
Mr Eno, who said he was born in a police barrack and lost his father at a very young age, said he did not believe he would someday become the governor of Akwa Ibom.
"I am in awe of the grace that has located me.
"If someone had told me years ago that I will stand here as the newly sworn-in governor, I would have told him to see a physician, not because I didn't trust what God can do but because I was not aspirational," he said.
While Mr Emmanuel has reportedly travelled out of the country to "take some rest", Mr Eno has since assumed duties, made his first set of appointments, and visited some state government projects a few days ago.
