By Unwana Assam
Mon. Oct. 12
On Saturday, June 6, 2025, Governor Umo Eno defected to the APC. He announced his defection at a ceremony held at Government House, Uyo, in the presence of some of his fellow governors from Imo, Ogun, Cross River, Edo, Delta, and other states, as well as his chosen political stakeholders in Akwa Ibom State.
According to the governor, his defection to the APC was to “align Akwa Ibom State with the centre” to attract more federal presence and development.
Those were his exact words. Not mine.
Let me make one thing clear: the issue here is not that the governor defected to the APC. Far from it. Of course, he has every constitutional right to join any political party of his choice to advance his political ambitions. So, nobody should lose sleep over that.
The real issue is the reason he gave the people of Akwa Ibom for defecting. If he told the people that joining the APC would bring more federal presence, development, and funding to the state, then he must be prepared to account for the benefits of that decision. He cannot make grand promises, exploit the people’s expectations, and then expect everyone to shut up when the promises produce little or nothing tangible.
As a governor elected on the mandate of the people, he is not above interrogation. Every public statement he makes, especially one used to justify a major political decision, must be subjected to interrogation, and he must be held accountable for his words and actions.
We, the journalists in the state must do just that.
So, let us ask: Since the governor defected to the APC and supposedly aligned Akwa Ibom with the centre, what exactly has he attracted to this state from the Federal Government?
Remember, the governor presented his defection as a strategic move to secure more federal funding and development for Akwa Ibom. After one year and four months of this celebrated alignment, the people should be able to point to concrete benefits. Not endless rhetoric. Not motivational speeches in churches and political events. Not emotional manipulation of those willing to believe every word that comes out of Government House.
Where are the results of this alignment of the state to the center?
Ahead of the celebration of Akwa Ibom’s 39th anniversary last month, an official bulletin published by the state government listed President Bola Tinubu as an expected guest on September 23, 2026. He was scheduled to visit Akwa Ibom to commission the much-publicized ARISE Palm Resort as part of the anniversary activities.
The date arrived. The people waited. The government had publicized the visit, and expectations were high. But Tinubu did not show up.
He simply did not come, and the governor went solo without telling us why the president did not come.
One might have assumed that his absence was due to unavoidable circumstances, perhaps his vacation in France. Surely, one would have expected that if the President cares or holds anything for Akwa Ibom, upon his return, he could visit Akwa Ibom straight from Lagos, to commission the project he was publicly scheduled to inaugurate. But that did not happen either.
Today, after all the noise, anticipation and publicity, the much-advertized presidential visit has disappeared from public conversation. Nobody seems to be talking about it anymore, not even the governor who sold his defection to the APC as a strategic alignment with the centre.
Everybody has simply moved on, as though nothing happened.
But should we?
The people of Akwa Ibom deserve answers from the governor. What exactly has this political marriage between Governor Umo Eno and President Tinubu at the center delivered to the state? What tangible federal projects, funding commitments, or development initiatives can the governor confidently point to as the fruits of his much-celebrated defection?
And now, another troubling development has emerged concerning the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway.
The project, which was initially presented as a coastal route cutting across several states, including Akwa Ibom, was among the issues the governor used to reinforce the argument for his aligning the state with the Federal Government. Yet, according to statements attributed to the Minister of Works, David Umahi, the route is being redirected inland to connect with the East-West Road rather than proceeding along the originally envisaged coastal alignment that the governor celebrated when he went to flag off the part of Calabar-Akwa Ibom in Calabar.
If this reported change means Akwa Ibom will lose the benefits expected from the original route, the governor owes the people an explanation. What happened to the promises? What has the state gained from this alignment?
Then there is the proposed Ibom Deep Seaport.
The governor presented his defection to the APC as a pathway to realizing the long-awaited project, claiming that Tinubu had promised to facilitate its construction. Yet, the project has faded from the governor’s public conversations, while fresh announcements and funding arrangements for seaport development elsewhere continue to attract attention.
What happened to Ibom Deep Seaport?
What happened to the assurance that the project would become a reality under the Tinubu administration? Why has the governor gone quiet on an initiative he once presented as one of the potential dividends of joining the APC?
During his campaign, the governor was captured on video arguing that Tinubu would not abandon seaport development in Lagos to construct the Ibom Deep Seaport. Now that both men belong to the same political party, the people deserve to know the actual status of the project. What progress has been made? What concrete commitment has the Federal Government given? And when will the people see results?
I hope the Governor will not see these concerns as acts of political hatred, envy, or opposition for its own sake as he has always done. These are pertinent questions any responsible citizen should ask a governor who invoked federal alignment to justify a major political decision.
I am raising these issues now because another election is approaching, and Governor Umo Eno is seeking a second term. This is precisely when citizens must become more politically conscious, scrutinize campaign promises of the governor, and demand accountability from him and those seeking to retain power.
We cannot afford to be carried away by political slogans, carefully staged appearances, endless praise-singing, a 5kg bag of rice, and promises that evaporate once the applause dies down.
The governor cannot tell the people that he joined the APC to bring the centre closer to Akwa Ibom and then refuse to show them what that alignment has actually delivered.
If the alignment has produced results, let him present them. If there are federal commitments, let him make them public. If the projects are delayed, let him explain why. And if the promises have not materialized, the people have every right to know what went wrong.
What we cannot accept is the idea that merely joining the same party as the President automatically amounts to development.
Akwa Ibom is not a political experiment, and its people are not a gullible audience to be fed with grand promises by the governor every election season.
Otherwise, one day, the governor might announce that the Federal Government has decided to relocate Aso Rock to Akwa Ibom because he has successfully aligned the state with the centre, and some people would still swallow the story hook, line, and sinker.
Akwa Ibom people must wake up. Stop applauding promises from the governor. Start demanding results now. For it is long overdue.
