Political rift deepens in Akwa Ibom as police withdraw security from ex-Gov Emmanuel’s residence

• Pastor Eno & Mr Emmanuel 

Tensions in Akwa Ibom State reached a boiling point, last week, as the police allegedly withdrew security personnel from former governor Udom Emmanuel’s residence amid a growing rift with his successor, Pastor Umo Eno.

PREMIUM TIMES reports that a directive issued on September 30, signed by Assistant Superintendent of Police Ekwo Godwin on behalf of the chief security officer at the Government House in Uyo, instructed the operatives assigned to Mr Emmanuel’s residences to withdraw by October 1 and report to the police headquarters in Uyo for debriefing.

The paper’s correspondent saw a copy of the order marked as Order 472.

It was also gathered that the withdrawn operatives were also attached to former state officials who refused to defect to the APC.

When reporters visited on Thursday and Friday, last week, no police operatives were found around Mr Emmanuel’s residences at his country home in Awa Iman, ONNA Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom, and at Ewet Housing Estate, Uyo.

When contacted on Thursday, the Commissioner of Police in Akwa Ibom, Mr Baba Mohammed Azare, denied that operatives had been withdrawn from the former governor’s residences.

The Commissioner for Information in Akwa Ibom, Rt Hon. Aniekan Umanah, said, on Thursday, that he was unaware of the development.

“I am not aware of that. You can ask the security people. I am not aware,” he said, adding that the order “can’t be from the state government.”

The former governor, Mr Emmanuel, could not be immediately reached for his comment as of the time of filing this report. Efforts to reach his media aide, Mr Stephen Abia, at the weekend was also unsuccessful.

It has been a tradition for the Akwa Ibom State Government to request a number of operatives from police authorities, which the government distributes to serving and former state officials. The request and distribution are handled by the chief security officer at the Government House, Uyo, with the governor’s authorisation.

Meanwhile, political watchers believe that the escalating feud, which began after Governor Eno defected to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June, has now spilled into the open, exposing a deep-seated political rivalry that could reshape the state’s political landscape.

Since June, when Mr Eno ended the PDP’s 25-year dominance in the state with his defection to the APC, his relationship with Mr Emmanuel, whom he referred to as his “political godfather”, has been strained, though both have tried to downplay the rift.

Political tension in the state is growing more intense by the day as Mr Emmanuel, now an opposition leader, quietly works to regain control of the PDP structure from his successor.

Mr Eno had vowed to retain control of the PDP structure in the oil-rich state to prevent his political enemies from using it against him.

“As a matter of fact, contrary to some insinuations, I want to run both parties (APC and PDP)? Far from it. And what is wrong with being interested? We would not leave the PDP for thieves to hijack and use it against us.

“If anybody thinks we are going to do that, they have something coming. We will lead the structure of the party (PDP) so that they can work together (with APC). So that people don’t come from outside and think that Mr Eno has moved, let me come and hijack the party. Let the structure of the party remain. They have done their congresses. That’s my position,” Mr Eno said in May in a leaked video, which led to the eviction of Channels Television reporters from the Government House, Uyo.

On Tuesday, last week, the PDP National Working Committee dissolved the party’s state executive council in Akwa Ibom and constituted a caretaker committee to run party affairs, apparently to counter Governor Eno’s influence within the party.

Although Mr Eno has repeatedly vowed never to “fight” his predecessor, the cracks widen as the 2027 elections approach.

Ndianaabasi Udom, an aide to Governor Eno, resigned from his appointment with the Akwa Ibom State Rural Access Roads Agency on 30 September to join the newly constituted PDP caretaker committee in the state, causing panic across the APC-led government.

Two days later, the governor announced the dissolution of statutory and non-statutory boards and commissions in the state. Hours later, several of Mr Eno’s aides and some politicians took to Facebook to pledge their loyalty to the governor and the APC.

“Akwa Ibom is an APC state,” Mr Eno told a crowd of supporters who came out to receive him at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, on Friday.

“You must say this loud and clear, you must be proud to belong to the centre, you must be proud to receive the support of the centre. So, now, it is time for you to show and to wear our badge of honour very proudly – that you are an APC member.”