Ex-minister reacts to speculations that Gov Eno was pressured to defect to APC

 A former minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Umana Umana, says it is baseless for people to say that Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State was pressured to defect from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr Eno announced his defection on Friday at the Government House, Uyo, in the presence of governors of Lagos, Ogun, Edo, Delta, Ebonyi, Imo, Ondo, and Cross River States.

Apart from citing the perennial leadership crisis in the PDP at the centre as his reason for leaving the party, Mr Eno said he wants to work for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election in 2027 without being seen as playing anti-party.

He said the APC was happy to welcome the Akwa Ibom governor adding that the governor is a performing governor and is highly regarded and loved by the people of Akwa Ibom State.

Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party PDP is yet to speak on the governor’s defection.

With his defection, the PDP has become an opposition party in the oil-rich state for the first time in 26 years.

It may interest you to know that, Mr Eno has become the second PDP governor in the South-south region, after Governor Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta State, to join the APC in less than two months.