OFFICIAL: Governor Umo Eno Dumps PDP for APC

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has officially left the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join Nigeria’s ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), marking a major political shift in the oil-rich state.

Governor Eno made the announcement on Friday during a meeting at the Government House in Uyo, which was attended by several APC governors, including those from Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Ebonyi, and Cross River states.

“Earlier this morning I submitted my letter of resignation from the PDP to the ward chairperson. Same copy has been sent to the state and national chairpersons of the party,” Mr Eno said.

His defection ends the PDP’s 26-year dominance in Akwa Ibom State, turning the party into the opposition for the first time since 1999.

Governor Eno is now the second PDP governor in Nigeria’s South-South region to join the APC in less than two months, following Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State.

This development comes just over a year after Mr Eno secured a decisive victory in the 2023 governorship election under the PDP banner. In that election, he was declared the winner by Emmanuel Adigio, a professor and Returning Officer for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), during the official announcement in Uyo.

Mr Eno won in 29 out of the 31 local government areas, earning 354,348 votes. His closest rival, Bassey Albert of the Young Progressives Party (YPP), secured victories in just two local government areas, with a total of 136,262 votes.

The governor’s move to the APC is expected to reshape the political landscape of Akwa Ibom and could influence the broader balance of power in Nigeria’s South-South region.