Gov. Umo Eno.
By Etim Etim
With four weeks left before political parties get busy with conducting primaries to nominate candidates for various positions, Akwa Ibom State Chapter of APC is already brimming with intrigues and plots on who gets what; and Gov. Umo Eno, as party leader, is considering all options in dealing with the contending interests. The governor’s plan is to have as many elected officials as possible returned for second or third term. They were given assurances of automatic tickets as a quid pro quo for their support for the governor’s defection. Eventually, two Senators; 10 House of Representatives members and 24 of 26 House of Assembly members supported and defected with him in what was clearly an overwhelming support that ended up crippling the PDP. Now, all eyes are on the governor. Will he fulfil his pledge? How will he manage the many contending interests within the party?
Last week, the party leader gave out the first public indication of his plans. ‘’Just before you resign to contest in 2027, everybody should read the political temperature in the state, and avoid heating up the polity. There would not be any compensation for unwarranted political wastages’’, he said at a Government House event. He was essentially warning potential aspirants to look carefully before they leap as there might not be vacancies in some of the 41 positions up for election. Apart from the quid pro quo consideration, Pastor Eno also wants the National Assembly members reelected because that’s the surest way for them to secure leadership of critical committees. But in certain constituencies, aspirants are already campaigning (or consulting) stealthily, buoyed up by the need to maintain zoning tradition. Gov. Eno had also said that he’s not against zoning; but at the same time, there’s a need to have ranking members in the National Assembly.
Herein lies the dilemma. The urge to produce ranking legislators and the need to sustain zoning. In the circumstance, the office seeker will have to weigh his options carefully, and consider the efficacy of mounting a challenge he cannot win. ‘’The Electoral Act recognizes consensus as a form of nominating candidates, and so I believe that the two leaders (governor and Senate President) will have much say in who emerges as candidates, and at the end of the day, they will have to balance many factors in determining who gets what ticket’’, says Information Commissioner, Aniekan Umanah, a former House of Representatives member who defected with the governor to APC in June.
Of all those facing reelection next year, only two – members of Onna and Etinan State Constituencies – who refused to defect with the governor, are still in PDP. The ruling party would do everything to take their seats. But in other constituencies, the race would vary in intensities. In Akwa Ibom South Senatorial district, former deputy governor and former managing director of NDDC, Obong Nsima Ekere is said to be interested in the senatorial ticket. He would be challenging Dr. Ekong Sampson, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Solid Minerals, in the primaries. Ekere has redoubtable political antecedents and strong support base in the zone. He was the 2019 APC governorship candidate in the state who contributed massively to build the party. Senator Sampson, on the other hand, is putting his trust in the cordial relationship he has with the governor and is hopeful that the automatic-return pledge the governor made will hold.
In the same district, another aspirant whose ambition has piqued immense curiosity is the Commissioner for Works & Fire Service, Prof Eno Ibanga. He is from the same LGA as the incumbent senator and there’s no love lost between the two. The professor was first appointed Commissioner for Works & Fire Service in August 2020 in the Udom Emmanuel administration, and before then, he was the Vice Chancellor of the state-owned university, Akwa Ibom State University. Soon after he joined Eno’s cabinent in 2023, Ibanga organized a big ceremony in his community in which he was crowned the Political Leader of the LGA. Many were startled by such an audacious outing so early in the life of the new administration. Since then the prof has been busy nurturing his support base in the senatorial district.
Last month, Prof Ibanga created a scene when he made a huge cash donation at an event organized by women groups in his community. The sight of big bags of cash being dragged out of waiting vehicles created quite a stir. But in terms of his job performance, his assessment would be considered stellar if the volume and pace of infrastructural development in the state is the yardstick. The professor of Solid State Physics would by now be considering the governor’s admonition for aspirants to ‘’read the political temperature’’ carefully.
Dr. Judith Mayen Etuk–Ogbara from Eket/ONNA/Esit Eket/Ibeno federal constituency is one of the only two female aspirants campaigning to unseat two male incumbent House of Representatives members. Etuk-Ogbara after Okpulumpm Etteh’s seat. JMO, as she’s fondly called, was visibly active at the APC National Convention in Abuja last week where she served as a member of the medical committee. She’s a strong advocate for women’s empowerment, particularly in education and entrepreneurship. President Tinubu’s pledge at the convention to widen the space for women participation in politics could open the door for her. Incidentally, this constituency had recently (2015-2019) sent a woman to the House of Representatives, the only federal constituency in Akwa Ibom to have done so since its creation in 1987.
Another well known female aspirant is Blessing Ossom from Uyo federal constituency which comprises Uyo, Ibesikpo-Asutan, Nsit Attai and Uruan LGAs. While Representative Mark Esset is working to return for a second term, Ossom is mounting a rigorous campaign to remove him, and she’s banking on the support of the Senate President. Ossom is said to be close to Akpabio’s family. When the Senate President’s relative, Mrs Pat Ibanga Akpabio, launched a campaign of calumny against the Senate President last year, Ossom wasted no time jumping into the fray to defend the Senate President. I actually admire Blessing Ossom for her beauty, business acumen and drive. Strong, resilient and tenacious, she has paid her dues politically since 2018 when I first noticed her on the political turf.
But Ossom could sometimes act indiscreetly. Last month, she openly criticized the SSG, Prince Enobong Uwah, for the manner APC congresses in the state were organized. Uwah was the chairman of the Congress Implementation Committee. At a point, she openly called for the sacking of the SSG and boasted that she had the powers to do so. I thought that was thoughtless. Does she not know that the SSG was simply carrying out the governor’s directives and guidelines as party leader? A well-placed politician however confided in me that Ossom’s main problem with the SSG is her suspicion that he is the major backer of Mark Esset, her opponent. ‘’You know in politics, my opponent’s main supporter is also my opponent’’, the source told me, winking.
A clash of a longstanding zoning arrangement with the interests of the party leaders would be on display in Abak/Etim Ekpo/Ika Federal constituency where the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Udeme Otong, is planning to return to the House for a record third term. He has no clear opponent, unlike the member of the House of Representatives, Clement Jimbo, who is being challenged by no fewer than two aspirants: Boniface Ebewo, a businessman and Barr. Jumbo, a legal practitioner – both from Ika LGA (please don’t confuse Jimbo with Jumbo). The federal constituency has a strong zoning arrangement in which the House of Reps seat rotates among the three constituent LGAs. But the last person from Ika to occupy the seat was Ekperikpe Ekpo, the current Minister of State for Petroleum (Gas) – some 14 years ago. Ebewo has been campaigning (or consulting, I should say) vigorously since last year, making the point that it is Ika’s turn and stressing that both the Speaker and member of the House of Reps are from the same LGA.
Concentration of big wigs in one LGA is also creating disaffection and disharmony in Oron Federal Constituency from where the deputy governor, Senator (Mrs) Akon Eyakenyi, and the member of the House of Reps, Martins Etim Esin, hail. The constituency has five LGAs, but Eyakenyi and Esin are from Oron LGA, although the deputy governor’s association is by marriage. But Dr. Victor Antai, Executive Director at NDDC, wants one of the two positions go to another LGA. Antai has said that he’s not interested in being a deputy governor, contrary to rumours, but he just does not want one LGA to hold the two most important elective offices. He has the resources and support base to cause discomfort in the system. Tension is mounting.
Clearly, Pastor Eno has some balancing act to do, juggling all these conflicting interests. He will have to deploy his skills in persuasion and conflict management to bring all parties together and manage the contending interests. After all, politics is all about managing interests and massaging big egos. But this is a different season. In past political seasons, disaffected aspirants in one party would easily move to other parties to pursue their ambitions. This time, post-primary defections are would be rare for two main reasons. One, the other parties in the state are weak and almost nonexistent. While the PDP has lost its strength due to intractable leadership crisis, ADC has not positioned itself as a viable alternative. Two, the 2025 Electoral Law stipulates that a candidate’s name must be in the electronic register of a political party submitted to INEC months before the election and this means that any person who decamps after primaries might not have had his name in the register of the party he intends to move to. It is now up to APC to manage its success well.
Etim is a journalist and political analyst based in Abuja.
