President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has reassured the Akwa Ibom State governor, Pastor Umo Eno, of his resolve neither to forsake nor allow him to be humiliated.
The president gave the assurance on Saturday during the grand reception for Governor Eno into the All Progressives Congress, APC, held at the Godswill International Stadium, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.
The president, represented by Vice President Kashim Shettima, said Governor Eno would never regret his decision to join APC.
His words: “We are here because we believe in building bridges not walls and mending fences, not destroying it. President Tinubu is a bridge builder and your decision to come to APC is one you can never regret. The president assures you that you won’t be humiliated or forsaken, we are your brothers and we will rise together. We are not an assemblage of politicians. We are a family.
“We will stand by you as we stood by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio who went through fire because of our party. We are all with you and we shall succeed together. On behalf of the President, I thank you for coming to APC.”
Speaking, the President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio, applauded Governor Eno for taking the bold step to join the APC, noting that the governor, from the outset, had been identifying with and showing support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Akpabio said that among the things Governor Eno requested from the centre was the realisation of the Ibom Deep Seaport, assuring that his request would be granted, and more besides.
While pledging to ensure President Tinubu’s victory in the South-South during the 2027 election, Akpabio expressed hope that the remaining two states in the region would soon join APC.
“What we have here today is not just a political movement, but a political maturity. You have placed the peace and development of Akwa Ibom State above party lines. We say welcome to the progressive family and we know you are going to add value and not number to the family. It’s going to be from celebrations to collaborations.
“I see things turning around for good in Akwa Ibom, you are a man of your words, there is nothing anybody can do to you, among the things you asked for from the centre was the Ibom Deep Seaport. Don’t worry, we will give you more than you asked for.”
Earlier, Governor Umo Eno recalled that on June 6, he made the move to join the progressive movement of APC, in order to align with the centre and support President Tinubu’s reforms to bring economic growth to the state.
He appealed to the President and the Federal Government to ensure that his move to the progressive party translates into the realisation of the Ibom Deep Seaport.
“We are not afraid to join APC as we know, with APC, we will realise our Ibom Deep Seaport, today we are reassured by the federal government that we will have it. Akwa Ibom has 19.1m deep and we don’t even need to dredge even if it is one terminal, this movement would have been justified.
“We have taken the risk to join the Senate President to deliver the Presidency come 2027 and we know that every risk has a reward and our reward should be the Ibom deep seaport which for over 30 years we struggled to have,” the governor said.
The APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, while welcoming Governor Eno to the party, described him as a wise man who understands the difference between national isolation and national unity.
Ganduje expressed joy that the South-South zone of the country now has four APC governors, and that the remaining two in the opposition would soon join, saying that political uniformity would make it easier to address common challenges in the region.
“Since we are progressive governors in the South South, it will be easier to take care of the problem of the region,” he said.
