PDP or APC: Nigerian Governor Loses Aide After Commissioner's Resignation

• Akwa Ibom Governor Umo Eno has lost a media aide who preferred to remain in the PDP rather than follow the governor to the APC
• Chris Abasi Eyo, the governor's honorary special adviser on media and publicity, said his resignation followed the governor's directive
• Eyo would be the second member of Eno's cabinet who dumped the government following the governor's decision to decamp from the PDP to the APC

Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has lost another member of his cabinet following his decision to dump the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).

Chris Abasi Eyo, the governor's honorary special adviser on media and publicity, disclosed that his resignation was a result of Eno's directive that members of his cabinet who would not follow him to the APC should tender their resignation, as stated in his letter.

Governor Eno's aide resigns

According to Premium Times, the resignation letter has been circulating on social media

Eyo, who was once the commissioner for information in the state, served as Eno's governorship campaign spokesperson in the 2023 general election.

His resignation letter partly reads:

“There has, undoubtedly, been an avalanche of reflections and reactions from various quarters concerning your ‘progressive move’ and the justification you have advanced in its support. Nonetheless, while the decision is strategic, it is bound to leave in its wake a trail of political jetsams and flotsams.”

How many of Eno's cabinet members resigned?

Eyo's resignation came a few days after Ini Ememobong, the commissioner for information to Governor Eno, resigned from the administration, citing the same reason.

Governor Eno was the second governor in the south-south region to dump the PDP for the ruling APC, following the defection of his counterpart in Delta State. Eno also expressed his admiration for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s leadership as a key factor in his move to the APC.

The Akwa Ibom governor also cited the long crisis rocking the PDP as one of his reasons for dumping the party and joining the APC. He also disclosed that he wanted to be free to campaign for President Tinubu in the 2027 election.

When the PDP crisis started

The PDP crisis started after its presidential primary, when the northern-dominated PDP leadership ignored and rejected the southern bloc's call for the chairmanship position ahead of the 2023 presidential election.

Atiku Abubakar, the party's flagbearer in the election, also did not support the call, which led to the protest of five governors from the south, including Wike, to work against him in the poll. Atiku lost the election to Bola Tinubu of APC by a margin of close to two million votes.

Source: Legit.ng