Victor Udo is an accomplished electrical engineer and sustainable development expert based in Pennsylvania, USA. He’s also a former government official in the USA and Akwa Ibom State with a passion for unity and progress among Ibibio, Annang, Efik, Oro, Ekid, Ekoiand Obolo – together, Abasi People. In this exclusive interview with our political desk editor, Etebong Akpan, he shares insights from his professional journey, his tenure in public service, and the vision behind the Abasi People Movement.
Let’s begin with your background. Who is Victor Udo?
Thank you so much Etebong. It is my pleasure to be here with you. I’m an electrical engineer from Obot Akara Local Government Area, though I currently reside in the United States of America. I previously spent about seven years in Akwa Ibom when Iwas invited by His Excellency, the Senate President, then
Governor Godswill Akpabio, to join the transformation team and help address the state’s power sector challenges. During that time, we achieved significant progress – fixing power generation, transmission infrastructure, improving distribution, and laying the foundation for a steady power supply. My mandate was clear: deliver consistent electricity to Akwa Ibomites.
You served in various roles while in government. What was your experience like?
Initially, I was offered the role of deputy managing director at Ibom Power, but that quickly expanded into a broader appointment as Senior Special Assistant on Power. I established the Power Sector Office at Ewet Housing Estate and assembled a team of engineers from multiple ministries. At that time, the Port Harcourt Electricity Distribution Company (PHEDC) was transitioning, and I was part of the negotiation team that worked with the Federal Government to secure PHEDC’s operations for Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Rivers States. Eventually, I became the MD of Ibom Power while retaining my role as SSA on Power. Later, under Governor Udom Emmanuel, I served as his first SSA on Planning during his first term.
Given your experience, why hasn’t Akwa Ibom achieved a stable power supply despite being one of the first States to generate its electricity?
The Akwa Ibom power sector has made significant progress. Thanks to continuity in leadership, from Governor Victor Attah to Godswill Akpabio, Udom Emmanuel, and now Pastor Umo Eno. The building blocks – gas supply, generation capacity, transmission, and distribution infrastructure – were all put in place.
At one point, we had up to 22 hours of power supply daily in some areas. What hindered long-term consistency was disruption in leadership and a lack of utility management core competency. We had the infrastructure but lacked the institutional competency to manage it sustainably. During our leadership, we completed and commissioned a second turbine at Ibom Power, raising capacity to 154 MW. But sustainable power is a full value chain – from generation to revenue collection to customer service – and we began to train professionals to manage the power supply system holistically.
In 2019, you left public office and returned to the USA.
Now you have returned with a new mandate – the Abasi People Movement. What is it all about?
The Abasi People Movement is powered by the Abasi People Foundation (APF), a registered entity in Nigeria, the USA and the UK. The mission of APF is to unite the people of Akwa Ibom and Southern Cross River, those of the old Calabar province, under one shared cultural identity. In the spirit of unity, we are meeting with several key stakeholders including paramount rulers, political leaders, business leaders, religious leaders and others. All of the 20 leaders we have met since my return have not only endorsed the Abasi People Movement but have agreed to be our Patron. They all agree: we are one people and must speak with one voice.
Other ethnic groups like the Igbos with Ohanaeze, Yorubas with Afenifere, and the North with Arewa, have strong unifying platforms.
Why don’t we? The COR State Movement you referenced was political. Is your current movement also political?
Not at all. This is a culturally shared identity, an equitable development-focused movement. While my background is in engineering, I pursued a PhD in Public Policy with a focus on sustainable development.
My research concluded that shared identity, good leadership, and structured governance are essential for sustainable growth. That’s where this vision was birthed – Abasi People (Ndito Abasi) as a unified nation and identity. We are not a political party. However, we recognise that engaging political leaders is necessary.
We will continue to consult with key figures, including both past and present leaders, but we are not aligned with any party. Think of us like Afenifere or Ohanaeze, they may endorse candidates but remain apolitical at their core.
What’s the response of the younger generation to the movement?
The youth response has been tremendous. We have a dedicated youth wing with a vice president for youth affairs.
Even my own Gen Z children are embracing our heritage.
They’re learning our dialects: Ibibio, Annang, Efik, Oro, Ekid, Ekoi and Obolo, mixed together, the Abasian language spoken in our major cities like Uyo, Calabar and outside Abasi Nation. We believe our diversity is our strength. One paramount ruler told us that God created diversity for a reason, and it must be harnessed, not feared.
Can Nigeria benefit from this kind of unity?
Certainly. While our immediate focus is for Ndito Abasi, everyone that calls God, Abasi; the ripple effect will benefit Nigeria. If we unite and speak with one voice, we become a powerful bloc, and that contributes to national stability.
But we must first put our house in order. Unity makes it easier to solve shared problems, like environmental degradation.
For example, acid rain is affecting roofs in Akwa Ibom because of oil and gas drilling. If we are united, we can demand change. Disunity weakens our voice and our bargaining power.
Some might see the Abasi People Movement as a threat to national unity. How do you respond to that?
There’s no reason to fear. The Igbos, Yorubas, and Hausas all have their platforms. Why should it be a problem when we seek to create ours? When national decisions are made, they have representatives. Who represents us? If they invite an Annang, the Ibibio might object. If it’s someonefrom Calabar, we say he’s not ours. We need unity so we can sit at the table with pride. And it’s not about exclusion, it’s about inclusion, mutual respect, recognition, and fairness. Equitable representation is the foundation of any federation. Our unity can serve as a model for other minorities in Nigeria.
What are your practical plans for development under this movement?
We’re revisiting community-based cooperative models.
Equitable resource sharing and self-help programmes. We are uniting for our collective self-emancipation from both internal and external marginalisation and exploitation in the equitable, sustain-able development of the Abasi Nation.
Practically, we need to defend our own. We need to support our own, which is one thing I admire and appreciate about the current governors of Akwa Ibom and Cross River States. They are working together with the current Senate President. That’s what we need. We want to see more of that.
The senator from Cross River South Senatorial District, for example, is always seen with the Senate President. That is a demonstration of shared identity and unity.
When you see President Tinubu’s cabinet, do you think he will focus on the Abasi People first? No, he’s thinking about his people first. That’s just the way the game is played. Think about your people first. We need to think and look inward.
On a final note, what would be your advice to our political leaders, starting from the governors of the two States, the National Assembly members, down to the level of the councillor?
For us, our message is unity, unity, unity. United we stand, divided we fall. There is power in unity. There is power in diversity. There is power in a higher, larger population. And one of the things, at least one of the Akwa Ibom State paramount rulers, we have visited thus far, told us about the current political dynamics in Nigeria. As he said, “Our people are not interested in platforms and parties; they are interested in development”.
Political leaders can use any platform and parties, but we must develop Ndito Abasi as an Abasi People ethnic nationality. We should be united, know ourselves as Ndito Abasi down to the village level.
Else, we will be left behind or we might be subsumed in or by another ethnic nationality.
Unequal yoke, we don’t have a shared identity, continuous land and resources will result in perpetual fighting.
So, we are calling on everyone who calls God “Abasi”, no matter the pronunciation or spelling, to join this unity movement. We are uniting Abasi People: Ibibio, Annang, Efik, Oron, Ekid, Ekoi and Obolo for sustainable development by self-emancipation.
We are one people and we have to show the world that we are one people. Let us stop internal fighting. Stop internal marginalisation and exploitation. We must unite to fight external marginalisation and exploitation. Let’s focus on how to develop ourselves.
Another thing that I think we need to tell the political leaders is about protecting our resources. From Biase and Akamkpa in the North, to Odukpani and Bakassi in the East. From Mbo and Ikot Abasi in the South, to Oruk Anam and Ini in the West, we are one Abasi People.
We know the way Nigeria exists now. Some people have taken over the forests in almost all parts of Nigeria. How do we protect our own? How do we preserve what we already have? How do we promote what we have? How do we pre pare the younger ones for service? That’s why we have the five Ps as our key principle. As done by other Nigerian ethnic nationalities, the Abasi People Must: Prepare our people for service; Preserve our language and culture; Protect our resources and commonwealth; Promote our services and products brand, and; Project Our people and shared identity.
That’s the message of Abasi People Foundation and Movement to our leaders, not only the political but the traditional, academics, business men and women. We should be buying from our purse, supporting our purse, even though we might do it at a little higher price. Everybody is complaining about what Trump is doing. America first.
In this case, the Abasi nation first. Abasian first.
I appreciate you for making out time to have this conversation. God bless you and all of us Abasi People (Yak Abasi odiong kpukpuru nyin Ndito Abasi).
You are welcome.
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