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Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno has defended his decision to leave the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC), saying recent defections by other governors have vindicated his move.
Speaking during an interview on TVC on Friday, Eno said he acted early because he foresaw challenges within the PDP that would have made his re-election bid difficult.
According to the governor, his decision was based on careful consideration rather than political convenience. He argued that aligning with the ruling party would enable the state to benefit from improved access to federal support and funding for development projects.
“You can’t be hungry all the time. Why don’t you reject it? The man has done well. Funds are coming. Allocations are coming. And we’re able to have funds to get to work for our people. And so I had to. It was a decision well thought out,” he said.
Eno also cited the presence of Senate President Godswill Akpabio in the APC as another reason for his defection, saying political stability in Akwa Ibom would have been difficult to sustain if both leaders belonged to opposing parties.
“The Senate president is from Akwa Ibom. I don’t see how we would have maintained the peace trajectory we are talking about with me in another party and the Senate president in another party. The soul of the state is what everybody will be fighting for,” he said.
He said he had predicted that the PDP would struggle to support his second-term ambition, adding that many who criticised his decision have since abandoned the party themselves.
The governor described himself as a political forerunner, saying he had paved the way for colleagues who later defected to the APC.
“I did not see through how the way my party then, the PDP, was going, who will endorse my form for a second term. And people said no, it’s too early to judge. But it’s one of the instincts of leadership — your ability to see the future where others can’t see,” he said.
“Today, you can see who is going to endorse these forms. On which platform will I have run? Almost every serving governor, even second-term governors, have now left the party. Then you expect a first-term governor… So why did they leave? The same people who said I was too quick, I shouldn’t have done that — almost all of them have left. Some of them are with me now in the APC,” he said.
“I said to them, I came like John the Baptist to prepare the way for you,” he added.
Eno maintained that leadership should be judged by the accuracy of decisions over time, insisting recent political developments had validated his assessment of the PDP’s future.
He challenged critics to reflect on how many PDP governors remained in the party after condemning his defection.
“A leader’s judgement call must be such that over time, people will know if you’re truly a leader or not. What has happened today in this country should vindicate some of us.
“And people should be able to be humble enough to say we’re sorry, we were wrong, you were right. But human character, sometimes it’s difficult to apologise,” he said.
“The truth is glaring. Who is staying? Who among those governors are there now?” he said.
The governor also said preserving peace in Akwa Ibom remained his top priority, stressing that no political ambition was worth risking instability.
“For me, you must know the trajectory you want to take your people. First, there is no price I cannot pay for peace in this state. No price. Because we only know when trouble starts. We don’t know how it’s going to end,” he said.
He warned that conflicts often spiral beyond the control of those who ignite them, noting that maintaining unity within the state would help prevent external forces from exploiting political differences.
Eno said he enjoys a cordial working relationship with Senate President Akpabio, explaining that both leaders cooperate on initiatives that benefit Akwa Ibom despite occupying different positions in government.
“If you don’t have support from within, the external forces will not gain too much access. Between me and the Senate president, we’re good. I go to him, I check things with him.
“There’s never been a tension. He’s in Abuja doing his work; I’m in Uyo doing my work. Anything he can see up there that will favour the state, he brings it to the table, and anything I can see down here, I put it on the table too,” he said.
The governor also said he has consistently shown respect to all former governors of the state, even when they publicly criticised him.
“Give respect to these people. They’ve been here. He’s been a governor. I give respect to all past governors, all of them, without an exception. Nobody can say I’ve ever insulted one of them. If they say things I don’t like, I simply move away,” he said.
According to Eno, he has deliberately avoided responding to attacks from his predecessors, saying his restraint reflects his upbringing and belief that leaders should manage disagreements with maturity rather than confrontation.
