By Etebong Akpan
Pastor Umo Bassey Eno took over the reins of power on May 29, 2023 as the fourth elected governor of Akwa Ibom State since the return of democracy in 1999. His victory at the poll was not different from other elections in the state; the road was not only rough but also thorny.
At last, he triumphed both at the party primary, the general election and at the post-election stages, which is fast becoming the normal practice in the political process in Nigeria, nowadays. It was indeed a journey filled with collective uncertainty, deceits and betrayals but there was nothing new at the end of the day. The opposition against his emergence and victory might have been orchestrated by seeming new players but many were yesterday allies who knew the script and made massive efforts to tear it.
At last, though it was the same noise the result was not unexpected. It was an overwhelming victory for Pastor Eno and the PDP, thus engraving his name as the fourth elected occupant of the Hilltop Mansion at Government House, Uyo, since 1999.
Eno assumed power in an era of complex reality in the political equation in the state and country. The first two administrations in the state had the privilege of sharing the same political party with the government at the centre. This, however, did not stop an effective and internal opposition politicking with what came to be known as the ‘Abuja Front’. The ensuing power tussle between the PDP at home and the Abuja front had a destabilising impact on the government and its progra-mmes and was directly linked to the botched succession plan of the Victor Attah administration. Godswill Akpabio, the beneficiary of the internal crises within the party, had no such opposition as his position at the national level of the party gave him absolute control of the system during a greater part of his government. A semblance of opposition only surfaced towards his disengagement period but he was able to outsmart them to get a successful succession programme.
The political dynamics in the state changed in 2015 when the PDP lost power at the centre to the APC.The APC, however, dared its fangs during the 2015 general elections, when it showed its desperation to dethrone the PDP. Their permutations failed and PDP retained its foothold in Akwa Ibom. But it made a statement that it will not be business as usual. Despite the aborted ballot coup, more defections continued to hunt the PDP as the APC had more than the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, to dispense patronage to politicians.
This was what forced the Udom Emmanuel’s administration to chart a centric political disposition. The dynamics that favoured ex-Governor Emmanuel is quite different from what Pastor Umo Eno inherited on assumption of office.
Umo Eno happens in an era where the APC is not only fiscally empowered to operate in Akwa Ibom but has raw power to flex muscles if it chooses to. This is because, Akwa Ibom State by stroke of chance, has produced the number three citizen in the Nigerian political apparatchik; that is the Senate President in the person of Senator Godswill Akpabio, a former governor of the state.
This reality of having a political institution in the calibre of a Senate President has changed the power configuration in the state from the non-aligned status employed by ex-Gov Udom Emmanuel to a collaborative alignment with the centre without surrendering your identity and sovereignty.
According to Noccoli Machiavelli, in his book, ‘The Prince’, a new prince he said “has the difficult task of ruling and must first stabilise his newfound power in order to build an enduring political structure’. This approach has not only improved relationships with the main opposition party in the state, the APC, but has also led to a robust relationship with other political parties which has witnessed many defections into the PDP, thus leading to a more collaborative political environment.
This collaborative and consensus building with the centre has led to Strategic alliances with influential political leaders and stakeholders, fostering cooperation and progress in the state with the latest being a recent stakeholder’s meeting with past and present National Assembly members from the state. There is also a deliberate attempt at strengthening ties with federal government officials and agencies, enhancing the state’s access to resources and support as is the case with the Bank of Industry, which has been in the country for several decades but never had a presence in Akwa Ibom State until the governor, with his deft politicking through collaboration, brought the bank into the state and it incidentally became the first occupant of the 21-storey office edifice built by the state government.
This skilled navigation of national political dynamics is ensuring that Akwa Ibom State’s interests are represented and protected. This is a further testimony to the inclusive style of Pastor Umo Eno’s approach to politics and governance.
As stated earlier, Pastor Umo Eno’s collaborative and inclusive politics has not made him to surrender the political identity of the state or himself as a good party man. In the past one year, there has been a sustained and deliberate effort at consolidating power within the ruling party, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) in the state, through periodic ward meetings, which is compulsory for all government appointees and stakeholders to attend. The issues affecting the party are presented and solutions proffered. Another way that the governor has strengthened the party at the grassroots is through the engagement of members of the party at the ward levelas his personal assistants. Therefore, each ward in the state has a personal assistant to the governor with a caveat that such an appointee must be a permanent resident of that ward.
The governor has in the ARISE Agenda promised to encourage the political and socio-economic empowerment of women by increasing their participation in political and socio-economic activities. So far, he has not deviated from this as he is committed to empowering as many women as possible. For the first time in the political history of the state, Gov Umo Eno, has appointed an aide strictly to cater for the interest of female youths. It is not that women were not accommodated in the earlier arrangement but his action is seen as a calculated attempt at making the Akwa Ibom woman stand out in the comity of nations. Apart from women, people with disabilities and youths also fall into the category of the endangered population, which the governor is relating with positively. This, therefore, accounts for the many programmes aimed at liberating the Akwa Ibom youth, like AK-CARES. As is done for women the governor has equally appointed a special assistant for people living with disabilities.
One of the silent destroyers of the political party system is the reward system. This is a situation where those who are used to mobilise for the party were usually abandoned after the polls; Pastor Umo Eno has changed the narrative by also recognising party members even at the unit level with their recruitment into the state security outfit: ‘Ibom Community Watch’. This has turned every member of the party into a stakeholder.
The governor has also doused political tensions at the different chapters of the party through his effective management of party factions and interests, promoting unity and stability within the party. This, he has done through timely and prompt pronouncements on leadership issues that would have torn the internal structures of the party apart in some chapters. This confirms his pragmatic approach to leadership thus building the confidence of the members in his leadership.
Governor Eno is condemned to continue with party restructuring and reconciliation efforts, aimed at strengthening the PDP’s position in the state. This will manifest soon as the party moves to have its elected congress where a new party structure will evolve. He has a responsibility to act decisively to strengthen his grip on the party structure without compromising his principle as a morally upright Prince who cares for the stability of the state and his party.
Generally, Governor Eno has in the past one year made a concerted effort to satisfy all sectors of governance even to the consternation of those who never believed in him earlier. His humility and concern for the welfare of others is top notch clearly dispelling the previously held notion that he was only putting up a campaign stunt to win the heart of the electorates. It is believed that the next three years will witness a sustained campaign for a more robust Abuja-Uyo political collaboration that will impact positively on the economic fortunes of the state. The continuous economic and political empowerment of marginalised and vulnerable groups like women, youths and the physically challenged, must be sustained for the good of the state as an empowered woman is a blessing to the family.
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