By ETIM ETIM
Elder statesman, Chief Nduese Essien, has just issued a well-written press statement on the recent defection of Gov. Eno to APC, and I think I should contribute to the points he raised. The Chief is my very good friend, a relationship I cultivated in 2021 when I interviewed him for my book on the onshore-offshore oil dichotomy published late that year. He was in the House of Reps from 1999 to 2007 and fought gallantly with Obong Victor Attah and other leaders for the abrogation of that obnoxious law. Chief Essien is an authentic Akwa Ibom Hero.
In his statement this morning, Chief Essien makes the following points:
1. Although he had attended Gov. Eno’s defection event last Friday, he did so only as ‘’a demonstration of support for the governor’’ as an elder statesman. He has not left the PDP;
2. The governor’s decision to defect is his personal political decision for which he has the Constitutional rights;
3. The most cogent reason for his defection is the lingering crisis in the PDP which has the potential to jeopardize his second term bid should he remained in that party
4. However, the decision of the governor to coerce members of the State and National Assembly, as well as Chairpersons of LGAs calls into question the governor’s commitment to inclusiveness and political tolerance.
My question then is did Governor Umo Eno compel or coerce anybody to defect with him? The answer is a definitive No. He did not; and he does not even have the powers to do so. The governor persuaded and cajoled other PDP members to join him and he marshaled out the reasons for such a move and its benefits. The governor could not have coerced anybody adult person to join him in his new party, otherwise, how was Ini Emeobong able to withstand such coercion?
Coercion entails getting people to do something by use of force or threats or both. Eno did not use either. Many are wont to point to the governor’s earlier statement that any commissioner who does not join will not remain in the cabinet. That was not a threat; rather it was stating the obvious conditionality. Did previous governors appoint APC members into their cabinets?
Of course, every decision comes with consequences and a refusal to defect with the governor means loss of certain privileges, and this includes exiting from the executive council or any other position and possible loss of reelection, in case of an elected official.
In other words, governors make things happen. They are the major funders of their political parties and their candidates; they have the leverage, influence, money and the capacity to influence the outcomes of elections. A governor makes many appointments and recommends many others to the President for appointment. In addition, the governor gives contracts, gifts; favours, empowerments; etc. These are the soft powers that attract followers to wherever the governor goes. He doesn’t need to employ coercion; and this is why many elected and appointed officials enthusiastically joined Gov. Umo Eno in his new party. They were not coerced; rather, they just did not want to become the new face of opposition in Akwa Ibom. Opposition means hunger; misery; loss of privileges; loss of business; loss of big, brand new official cars with police escort; loss of salaries and allowances, etc.
I was in opposition for 11 years and it will never happen again, especially as I am now an elder statesman. I thank God for bringing Umo Eno to my party. I joined APC in November 2014, and I understand the pains that come with not being in the governor’s party. I lost my business; lost friends (in Akwa Ibom an opposition is trated as an enemy) and I had to relocate to Abuja. I was tormented and maligned; dejected; hunted and haunted. This is why some of us in APC have joyfully welcomed the governor into our party.
Many people have compared Senator Akpabio’s defection in 2018 with Eno’s defection in 2025 and wondered why a lot more people followed Gov. Eno than Akpabio. They have come to the erroneous conclusion than Umo Eno might have compelled people to defect with him. They are mistaken. In 2018, Akpabio was a senator who defected hastily without consulting his people. Even his family members claimed that they were taken unawares by his decision to join APC. Gov Eno, on the other hand, spent over 8 months to consult, persuade and consider all options before he made the final decision. Besides, as I said earlier, the governor exercises both soft and hard powers which lure people towards him. Who will not join a governor with a budget of about N1 trillion and capacity to make appointments; dispense favours and sway elections?
I thank Chief Nduese Essien for his candid statement and for electing to stand by Pastor Eno despite their respective political inclinations. I wish those who are staying back in the PDP less misery than I saw.
