Eno And The Three Rs

Governor Umo Eno has accorded the political class, across divides, in Akwa Ibom State so much respect, recognition and relevance that as he progressively moves in a matter of days, he is likely to have smooth sailing

*By Inemesit Ina*

If there is any state chief executive in Nigeria today who is known to accord Respect, Recognition and Relevance (the three Rs) to the political class, it is indubitably Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State.

The political class, cutting across partisan divides in the state, can attest to this particular strength of the Governor. His motive might not have been to make political capital and mileage from this strength all along but it now looks like it is payback time for him, time for the political class to repay the political debt they owe him.

As Eno prepares to quit his present party, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) and “progressively move” (as he put it in his speech during his second anniversary state banquet in Uyo on Thursday, last week), he can easily bank on the repayment, if he chooses to, of this debt which, evidently, has turned to capital for him, an enabler for a lot of mileage in his new political journey.

*Origin of the Three Rs: Gowon’s and Attah’s Versions*

In a bid to reintegrate the secessionist Biafrans into Nigeria at the end of the three-year civil war in January 1970, the then Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, introduced the policy of Reconciliation, Rehabilitation and Reconstruction (the three Rs).

In January 2017, almost exactly 37 years later, then Governor Victor Attah domesticated the three Rs in Akwa Ibom State but with different meaning.

Addressing a high-powered delegation from the PDP national leadership at Government House in Uyo, Attah gave his own version of the three Rs.

The delegation, led by the Chairman of the PDP Board of Trustees, the late Chief Tony Anenih, and the party’s Presidential Candidate, the late Alhaji Umaru Yar’Adua, were in the state on a Monday morning to reconcile the Governor and the party’s Gubernatorial Candidate in Akwa Ibom, Barr. (later Chief) Godswill Akpabio. Two days earlier, Akpabio was presented with the PDP flag, alongside other South-South standard bearers, at the party’s zonal rally in Port Harcourt attended by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. The flag presentation ended a month-long, thorny post-primary struggle for the PDP ticket in which the Governor was pitted against his erstwhile heir-apparent.

Akpabio had finished first in the December 2006 PDP governorship primary but he did not meet the 50 per cent threshold, as stipulated in the PDP nomination guidelines, to be declared a candidate. A run-off with the closest of his 18 (not 53 as widely touted) opponents, Dr. Udoma Ekarika, looked inevitable.

Attah, who supported Ekarika, his son-in-law and erstwhile Commissioner for Health and later Works, insisted on a run-off.

When that seemed impossible in January 2007, the Governor changed strategy. He opted for a consensus candidate in place of Akpabio or Ekarika. A meeting of party leaders, House of Assembly Members, Local Government Chairmen and elders was held in Government House where the late Senator Akaninyene Ukpanah (who did not contest the primary after initially showing interest) and Senator Emmanuel Ibok Essien, one of the aspirants, were picked as consensus candidates.

But Attah’s consensus option was rejected by Obasanjo and the PDP leadership. The flag presentation sealed everything, confirming Akpabio as the candidate.

Even the concession of five House of Assembly seats to the Governor was withdrawn by the party’s leadership without any explanation. Two of the five affected second term-seeking Assembly Members who managed to win nomination  did so through the skin of their teeth. One of the unsuccessful three told this writer then how Attah reacted to the withdrawal: “Honourable, I don’t understand the party again.”

To his supporters, the Governor had every reason to be angry with the PDP. And he had an option.

There was a precedent. Some followers wanted Attah to simply copy the playbook of the first civilian Governor of the old Cross River State (now Akwa Ibom and Cross River States), the late Chief Clement Isong. After losing the 1982 primary of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) to then Senator Donald Etiebet (now dead), Isong had directed his supporters led by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the late Atuekong Christopher Udomeshiet (also dead now), to defect to the opposition Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) and support its standard bearer and former Military Governor of the old South-Eastern State (renamed Cross River State in 1976), the late Brigadier Udoakaha Esuene (retd.), himself an earlier NPN defector and one of Isong’s kingmakers in 1978/1979, in the 1983 governorship election. They largely complied with the directive. The Governor nominally remained in the ruling party but everyone knew he was against Etiebet.

Attah’s Edo State counterpart, Chief Lucky Igbinedion, who equally felt slighted by the PDP (particularly Obasanjo, Anenih and former Governor Samuel Ogbemudia), had already moved against the party. It was an open secret that he was sponsoring the Gubernatorial Candidate of the opposition Action Congress (AC), Comrade (now Senator) Adams Oshiomhole, who had just left office as the National President of the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), for the 2007 election.

With the defection of Attah’s long-time business and political associate, the late Engr. Efiok Akpan (Ebasco), the AC standard bearer in Akwa Ibom, Mr. James Iniama, probably expected the Governor’s support.

Had the PDP delegation not come promptly, chances were that Attah would have copied Isong’s playbook.

At the tension-soaked reconciliation meeting, vintage Attah gave the party leaders a piece of his mind. In a riveting speech, he enumerated the indignities he had suffered in the party despite his instrumental role in its formation and successes. He ended his speech with a warning: “Every good politician expects three Rs – Respect, Recognition and Relevance.”

A very shrewd and experienced politician, Anenih, popularly called the Leader by PDP hierarchs including the President and Mr. Fix It by the press, saw the danger of allowing the Governor’s grievances to fester. He responded immediately, conceding the deputy governorship ticket to Attah. He had earlier made the same concession to Igbinedion who nominated his Chief of Staff and 1999 All Peoples’ Party (APP) opponent, Chief Lucky Imasuen, while still backing Oshiomhole.

After a short discourse, involving primarily the Speaker of the State House of Assembly, Chief (later Senator) Nelson Efiong, the Chairman of the Akwa Ibom National Assembly Caucus, Senator Udoma Udo Udoma, the Minister of Environment, Mrs. (later Senator) Helen Esuene, and the Governor, who left the meeting hall briefly at a point, Attah’s former Information Commissioner, Engr. Patrick Ekpotu, was named as his choice after two other names were suggested and discarded. Consequently, Akpabio’s original running mate, Mr. (later Obong) Nsima Ekere, was dropped there and then.

With the resolution of the dispute, the elated delegation, accompanied by Attah and Akpabio, moved to address the anxiously waiting PDP faithful at Ibom Hall.

It is debatable if Attah enjoyed the three Rs for 16 years (2007-2023) after he left office. But one thing is sure: Since Eno assumed office, two years ago, the three Rs have not been in short supply for Attah and Eno’s other two predecessors, Akpabio and Mr. Udom Emmanuel, as well as the larger political class. The trio may not be the best of friends but the Governor has been able to closely relate with each of them, doing a delicate balancing act. How he does it, only he can tell. It is perhaps one of the biggest wonders of Akwa Ibom politics.

*The Eno/Akpabio Harmony: Learning from the Bad Old Days*

It appears both Eno and Akpabio, presently the Senate President, have learnt from the past and are determined to avoid a repeat of history. Right from June 13, 2023 when Akpabio was elected and inaugurated as the Senate President, the Governor has taken concrete steps to ensure a cordial relationship with him in the interest of the state. Eno has accorded Akpabio respect so much so that it is doubtful if any of his two main challengers in the 2023 gubernatorial election would have done something close to it.

Few hours after the election and inauguration, Eno was in Akpabio’s Abuja residence to rejoice with him. A couple of weeks later, the Governor showed up at the Victor Attah International Airport, Uyo, to welcome Akpabio on his first visit to the state as Senate President. Since then, Eno has ensured that Nigeria’s number three man is always received at the airport by top State Government officials, sometimes at the level of the Deputy Governor or the SSG.

Last month, precisely May 13, the Governor, for the second time, personally received the Senate President at the airport. It was in faraway Warri in Delta State and at short notice. Both leaders had gone to attend the funeral ceremony of the Ijaw National Leader, Chief Edwin Clark. Eno had arrived the airport first and, on learning that Akpabio was on his way, waited to receive him. His words: “Your Excellency, I was told you are landing. So, I said, let me just wait and receive you. You know, I can’t hear that my oga, the Senate President…I said, let me just wait and receive you.”

Akpabio could not hide his gratitude: “I am very happy.”

Before then, Akpabio has been reciprocating Eno’s goodwill, hence the harmony between them. The Senate President has visited the Governor twice at Government House. Moreover, he solicits support for Eno at every opportunity.

Instructively, both leaders have been canvassing each other’s re-election with Eno igniting the campaign in December, last year.

*Respect*

An AI Overview defines respect as “valuing someone or something and treating them with consideration, courtesy and regard for their feelings, opinions and rights.”

The Senate President is not the only politician the Governor has shown respect based on this definition. Eno, naturally a humble and simple person, has extended similar gesture to President Bola Tinubu and Federal Government officials including those from Akwa Ibom.

At the state level, stakeholders and the entirety of the political class, across partisan divides, have enjoyed various forms of respect by the Governor.

*Recognition*

To the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, recognition is “the state of being publicly acknowledged or known for something (such as an achievement).

Flowing from that definition, it is obvious that the political class, again across partisan divides, have been given their due recognition by the Governor.

PDP leaders and members may see recognition by the Governor as their right. But Eno could have chosen not to. After all, Nigeria has had many Governors “who no send anybody” (as it is spoken on the streets and social media). Governors in the country are so deified by their followers that they assume god-like status.

Beyond the ruling party, Eno has accorded opposition politicians uncommon recognition. In November, last year, he directed all Local Government Chairmen to host Chapter Chairmen of main opposition parties in their areas.

The following month, for the Christmas festivities, he donated thousands of bags of rice not only to the PDP faithful but to members of the APC as well.

Penultimate Sunday, the Governor, during his second anniversary thanksgiving service at the International Worship Centre in Uyo, announced the donation of brand new vehicles to the State PDP Chairman and his counterparts in the APC and the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC).

Recognition of opposition politicians has virtually become a state policy with subordinates taking a cue from the Governor.

*Relevance*

In Cambridge Dictionary, relevance means “the degree to which something is related or useful to what is happening or being talked about.”

There is an age-old saying in the politics of the state that every good politician must be relevant at all times.

Attah said as much.

And there can be no denying the fact that the Governor has given every PDP member in the state a sense of relevance one way or the other. Ward meetings, on his instruction, are convened for stakeholders and members to interact. Eno, himself, attends such meetings in his ward in Nsit Ubium LGA. He also visits the PDP state secretariat in Uyo to engage the party’s apparatchik.

The Governor has introduced a novelty – appointment of of Ward Personal Assistants (PAs) to him but resident in each of the 369 wards in the state. They are all drawn from the PDP.

Stakeholders in each of the 10 federal constituencies are given the opportunity to nominate projects to be included in the state’s 2025 budget. Such stakeholders have publicly presented projects in form of Needs’ Documents to the Governor in the five federal constituencies he has, so far, held his Town Square meetings and empowerment.

Members of other parties also enjoy some form of relevance. Most instructive was the concessions given to the two top APC leaders, the Senate President and the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources (Gas), Obongemem Ekperikpe Ekpo, in the October 2024 local government elections.

During the Christmas Unplugged 2.0 celebration,  the Governor insisted that opposition politicians should be included in the planning committees of each LGA.

He did same regarding the planning committees for his Town Square meetings in all federal constituencies.

Moreover, under Eno’s watch, projects, employment and empowerment are done without political colouration.

As the Governor informs the PDP apparatchik of his exit in the next five days, there may be little to worry about by those who choose to stay behind. They may not cease to benefit from the three Rs. Thankfully, Eno has assured that he  will not stop his politics of inclusion. Speaking at the state banquet, he declared that he still loved the PDP.

Hear him: “I respect our party, the PDP. I love the PDP. But we all know the way things are, So, whatever happens, wherever the journey of life takes me, I will always love you. We’ve built strong friendships and we will always keep them.”

He was not done: “If you have anything to do, invite me, I will come. I will always be there. But it’s time to progressively move. That again will not affect anything in this state. We do not govern based on political affiliations.”

Calling for unity among the political class, Eno added, “I would love to see all our party leaders seated together like this, across party lines. We must always put Akwa Ibom first. We know we have Akwa Ibomites in the PDP, APC, YPP, and IPAC.

“What matters most is that there is food, security and welfare for our people. The ARISE Agenda provides for all these.”

He concluded with a message of unity: “Whenever anyone flies into Akwa Ibom, please drop your party tag and know you are flying into a united Akwa Ibom.”

Indeed, Eno is for all.