A renowned journalist and a Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) chieftain in Akwa Ibom State, Michael Bush, has accused Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom of "deceiving" the people with his "Akwa Ibom United" political slogan.
Before defecting from the PDP to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June, Mr Eno played down party politics, saying that political parties are "merely vehicles" for seeking elected offices.
At the time, Mr Eno had encouraged the PDP members in Akwa Ibom, including his administration officials, to accept, show respect, and work with the APC leaders and members in the state.
After his defection, the governor doubled down - integrating the phrase "Akwa Ibom United," which he used to refer to governance across party lines, into the APC slogan in the state.
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In September, during the controversy over the action of some of his aides who went to the Uyo airport to welcome his predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, Mr Eno said, "We are running Akwa Ibom United. We respect our leaders across party lines, but that does not change the fact that I am in the APC now to support President Bola Tinubu and Mr Akpabio."
When asked if his predecessor, who has remained in the PDP, was happy with him, Mr Eno said, "I will not fight my boss (referring to the former governor, Mr Emmanuel) or any leader".
"We are in good terms," he added.
In October, less than a month after Mr Eno's remarks, the police withdrew security from Mr Emmanuel's residence, on the governor's order, indicating that the relationship between the two leaders had broken down.
Demand for apology
"Apologise today for the euphemism or rather the deceit you call Akwa Ibom United and go on to run your APC system because even the blind can see what you are doing from the pulpit of governance," Mr Bush, the CEO of Bush House Nigeria, a media outfit in Uyo, said to Mr Eno in a Facebook post on Tuesday morning, following the governor's sacking of two of his political aides, on Monday, for attending the just-concluded PDP national convention in Ibadan, Oyo State.
"The 2027 governorship poll in Akwa Ibom will be more than just an election. It will be a no-holds-barred referendum on light or darkness, honesty or deception and above all, on whether a traitor can be betrayed.
"The man in Government House, Uyo, needs neither supporters nor opponents for that election. What he needs, and he had better start conducting his housekeeping now, is a verifiable account of the stewardship that PDP foolishly offered him in 2023," said Mr Bush, who was among the leading campaigners for Governor Eno in the 2023 election.
Fresh political tension
The sacking of the two aides has ignited fresh political tension in the oil-rich Akwa Ibom, with many politicians taking opposing stances on the matter, and the PDP leadership in the state, through its spokesperson, Ewa Okpo, accusing Governor Eno of "hypocrisy and impunity".
"During the build-up to His Excellency's defection from the PDP, he kept claiming that he wanted to have one Akwa Ibom State regardless of partisan differences, yet he proceeded to threaten his appointees to resign from his administration if they would not defect with him, and has since then persecuted anyone who refuses to defect to the APC with him," Mr Okpo said in a statement on Monday.
The sacked aides are Joseph Jacob Ikpak, a senior special assistant to the governor on support services and Felix Ekuri, a special assistant to the governor on Neighbourhood Watch.
Sources within the Government House, Uyo, told PREMIUM TIMES on Monday that Governor Eno, apparently disturbed by the action of the sacked aides, has summoned all his political aides to an emergency meeting on Wednesday at the Government House.
"A notice for the meeting has already been sent out by the SSG," a source within the governor's cabinet told our reporter.
The source stated that there has been apprehension within the administration due to concerns that many officials, including commissioners, have remained loyal to the PDP and Mr Eno's predecessor, Mr Emmanuel.
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Since Mr Eno defected to the APC, he has been struggling to manage political disloyalty from aides and politicians in the state, amid conflicts over sharing of political positions between the APC members and those who joined the party from the PDP.
Ini Ememobong, who resigned his appointment as commissioner in Mr Eno's administration rather than join the governor in the APC, was elected on Saturday at the PDP convention as the party's national spokesperson.
Governor Eno, on Tuesday, responded to his critics, saying that he demands absolute loyalty from his aides.
"Those who are not willing and ready to work with us and show loyalty to what we stand for and where we stand in this current dispensation, they are free to leave," the governor said during the swearing-in of a new head of Akwa Ibom civil service in Uyo.
