By Clement Warrie
The Peoples Democratic Party, once formidable and feared—no, more than feared; revered—in all of Africa, is dead. That’s the coroner’s verdict. Its once massive territories and flourishes are gone, along with the halos, its strong men and war chest. All that is left is a traumatized structure waiting to cave in. Forget for a moment, the spastic kicks, they’re the famous last act of a dying horse.
But before we open the coroner’s report on the PDP, we must first confront the clumsy elephants in the room: the faction within the PDP, that appointed itself enemies of Governor Umo Eno and swore on a devil’s oath to fight him to the last gasp.
You must know, the current critics of Governor Umo Eno in the PDP are not new enemies but old adversaries. The same belligerent cabal who tried to frustrate his emergence as candidate of the party in the fiery build up to 2023 gubernatorial elections.
They are the same individuals today. The only difference this time is that, they are without their masks. They ripped them off as soon as Governor Umo Eno departed the PDP. Now, they deal brazenly and fearlessly, under the cover of darkness or in broad day light.
To be sure, the identities of these men were not so much a matter of secret. The only mystery was the disarming method by which the former Governor, Udom Emmanuel, deployed to keep their venom from penetrating his armour or corrupting his loyal men, who were, quite frankly, but a handful.
Close aides reported close shaves. Udom’s adversaries, they confess, were among his frequent diners by day. But by nightfall, and in cahoots with opposition figures, they slithered into the shadows to do “one or two” to frustrate and undermine Udom’s government. At some point, his courage did falter, “The heart of man is desperately wicked.” He lamented. “ You can dine with someone today thinking he’s your own brother not knowing they can kill you”.
By accident, I stumbled upon the activities of these men while working with Anietie Usen, author of the book, “And IT Came To Pass,” an insider account of how Governor Umo Eno, “survived the avalanche of interpenetration of opposites and negations to become the Hegemon of the state,” as prefaced by Prof Ubong Umoh, the Commissioner for Education.
Not to be confused, my role in the book was to assist the author in conducting interviews and transcription, while the wordsmith, hammered the words into shape.
That assignment opened by eyes to the backroom politics of Akwa Ibom. It brought me face to face with political stalwarts, party men and influential clergies. Needless to say, there were uncomfortable revelations along the way. Revelations gleaned from edgy soundbites and cryptic pauses before answers by interviewees. Often, there were conflicting accounts. More often than not, a willful loss of memory. The intrigues pointed to one fact; the gang-up against Umo Eno was underreported! I may not be a speech specialist, nor skillful at deconstructing conspiracies, but who can hide from the Lord?
That singular assignment altered my beliefs in politics.
So, let’s get this out of the way; Pastor Umo Eno is not making new enemies. It is the old ones who are contending with him.
Ignore their pompous lectures and fake indignation! Who wouldn’t dump the PDP?
The national headquarters of this once-famous party is now a crime scene, overrun by a mob. Rancid cabalism, rancor, and greed are burning the party down. The party has reached a point where not even Satan would be a member. Nor would God Himself, in all His mercy and patience, agree to preside over it without first purging its core. If He did not spare Lucifer and his scheming legions, what hope do they have?
So, when people question Governor Umo Eno’s defection from the PDP, they refuse to acknowledge the decision was made out of grit and moral courage. But I suspect, among other burdens, it was the infringement on his core values and peace of mind that stopped the pendulum. And of course, the need to connect Akwa Ibom to the national grid of development.
But the PDP, like a woman scorned, has more fury than hell. They do not wish to go down without a fight. So daily, they gather shovels, knives, iron traps and get set for ambush. But it’s funny. Who sets traps for a child of God and not come to ruin? Who sets traps to catch antelope at Ibom plaza?
A few days ago, while Nigerians celebrated the crucial World Cup qualifying win over Benin Republic, the old enemies, now the rebel faction of the dying PDP, led by its petulant spokesman, slinked into social media with an empty press release, falsely claiming that governor Umo Eno is the one behind the infighting in the PDP
If the accusations weren’t such ridiculous nonsense, they’d be laughable. The way it is, it’s just plain delusional for anyone to speak about the governor in such condescending terms.
The man barely has time to attend to all the state and national issues; how can he bother with the petty squabbles of his noisy neighbors across the fence?
While the petulant spokesman typically does not need triggers to rant, this time, however, he was justified. The bombshell news of the defection of Governor Mba of Enugu state had sent seismic shockwaves through the PDP family nationwide and caused them immense distress. And just recently, the pain was deepened with news of Bayelsa government resigning from the PDP. A little earlier in April, the Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, had also quit the PDP.
Former Ekiti State Governor Ayodele Fayose threw a bombshell Wednesday, October 15, 2025. Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today, Fayose declared the PDP is “dead”. He also predicted more governors would jump ship, citing internal power struggles and ego clashes as the reason for the party’s demise
“Let me tell you, there are three more governors that will leave soon. There will be five remaining. The five remaining, one of them will struggle to catch the ticket, and they all know that the ticket is an ordinary tissue paper,” Fayose said.
The troubles in PDP is irreversible. The frequent loss of territories to APC going into election year, has brought the party to its knees. The cabal in Akwa Ibom are inconsolable. They have become desperate and predictable, funneling their hate towards a man who has no reason to be on their lips or in the sentences they write.
These men can tip-toe around the truth as much as they want, but they can’t dismiss the fact that Governor Umo Eno is a peacemaker and unifier. The records are there. First and foremost, he’s the only occupant of the Hilltop Mansion to welcome and celebrate Akwa Ibom past leaders and sons, opening the building to everyone, irrespective of party affiliations, to come and share ideas on how to move Akwa Ibom forward.
His inaugural speech was adjudged fluent and unambiguous “we are all Akwaibomite first before politics. Politics must therefore not separate or sever the ties of brotherhood and our common heritage and aspirations” how can anyone speak ill of such a man?
He was so clear about the Akwa Ibom he envisioned under his watch that he set up a bi-partisan reconciliation committee with a plea, “we can jaw-jaw, instead of war-war.”
But the enemies of Akwa Ibom are the most obstinate people on earth. Time and again, they have proven that the notion of “a united Akwa Ibom” is an inconvenience to them. Peaceful waters cloud their vision. So they throw explosives into the water, then wait and watch to see where the fish will land.
But despite efforts to distract him, Governor Umo Eno remains focused on implementing the ARISE Agenda for the people of Akwa Ibom. Politics for now is least of his worries, let alone the troubles in his former party. Like many Nigerians, he also watches, with a bit of dismay at how deeper into the wormhole the PDP has plunged.
That’s as far as his involvement goes. His focus remains squarely on his work and commitment to developing Akwa Ibom.
Warrie is an Aide to Gov. Umo Eno, writes from Uyo.
