From INIOBONG SUNDAY, Uyo
As reactions continue to trail the defection of the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, from the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to the All Progressives Congress, APC, a PDP chieftain and former House of Representatives member, Dr. Michael Enyong, has assured the party structure remains intact ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Speaking in an interview with Journalists in Uyo, the state capital on Monday, Dr. Enyong, popularly known as ‘Babantan’, recalled that “the people who make PDP win elections are still in the party, and will sustain the winning streak of the party in future elections”.
“I am Dr. Michael Enyong, with ‘Babantan’ as nickname, and I’m speaking from the place of authority as a man who had been contesting elections and winning. In 2015, I contested and won election on the platform of the PDP to represent the good people of Uyo/Nsit Atai/Uruan/Ibesikpo Asutan Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, during the 8th National Assembly.
“In 2019, I also contested and won again on the platform of the PDP to represent the same good people of that federal constituency during the 9th National Assembly where I was the Chairman of the Committee on Solid Minerals Development.
“In 2023, I also contested the governorship election in Akwa Ibom State and I was declared as the authentic Governorship Candidate of the PDP by the Federal High Court and by the INEC, before the Supreme Court ruling which restored Umo Eno as candidate.
“I’m telling you, without mincing words, that the PDP is still intact in Akwa Ibom State despite Umo Eno’s defection”, he recalled.
Michael Enyong, widely known and regarded as the ‘Lion of Akwa Ibom Politics’, therefore, assured that “PDP is in the consciousness of the Akwa Ibom people and would always win elections any day”.
“I would like to state that the Peoples Democratic Party in Akwa Ibom State is still intact and very strong despite the defection of Governor Umo Eno to APC”, he said.
“We’re ready to reorganize our party, the PDP in Akwa Ibom State, and prepare to win massively in future elections.
“I can assure you that PDP is still a religion in Akwa Ibom. Major stakeholders in the state politics are still with the PDP. We’re not worried at all by the defection of Umo Eno to the APC. Come 2027, PDP will file candidates for the general elections and our candidates will win massively”, he stressed.
He faulted the governor’s hurried defection just after two years from a party he rode to victory in 2023, describing the act as “playing double standard”.
The former lawmaker, therefore, called on the National Working Committee, NWC, of the PDP to stop the governor’s continued meddlesomeness and interference in the activities and programmes of his former party following his statement that he would continue to control the PDP structure while in APC.
“I want to also mention here that it is really an issue of playing double standard because he made a comment that while he defects to APC, he would also hold on to the PDP structure so that no one can use the platform of the PDP to fight him; such statement is clearly double standard and unacceptable”, Enyong said.
The migration across party lines, the ex – lawmaker explained that defection from one political party to another carries some legal implications, noting that
“section 221 of the Constitution states clearly that a political party shall sponsor a candidate in an election, adding that it is illegal for Umo Eno to defect to APC after riding on the platform of the PDP to clinch victory at the polls”.
According to him, “Governor Eno has not provided sensible reason for leaving the PDP and urged the national leadership of the party to declare the governor’s position vacant as well as challenge his defection in the court”.
