Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom has formally dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the All Progressives Congress (APC) after weeks of speculation.
The governor made the announcement at a ceremony attended by the APC bigwigs at the Government House in Uyo on Friday.
“After completing the rounds of my consultation as your servant whom you have elected to serve, I have therefore decided to progressively move to the APC,” Eno said at the event.
“We are not joining the APC from a position of weakness, but from a position of strength. We’re bringing value to Akwa Ibom State. We’ve come into the APC with a ministry of reconciliation,” he added.
Eno, a clergyman, is the second PDP governor in the oil-rich South-South to join the ruling party in the last two months after Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta defected in April.
Aside from the aggrieved new PDP governors, the likes of Rotimi Amaechi of Rivers, Rabiu Kwankwanso of Kano, Aliyu Wamakko of Sokoto, and Ahmed Abdulfatah of Kwara, who joined the APC pre-2015, not less than five incumbent governors have decamped to the party since its retain power a decade ago.
The five governors include:
David Umahi of Ebonyi
Umahi was the first governor to defect to the APC post-2015. He was serving his second term when he defected to the ruling party in November 2020, citing marginalisation of the South East by the PDP and then President Muhammadu Buhari’s commitment to infrastructure development as reasons. He is currently the Minister of Works.
Ben Ayade of Cross River
Ayade, also a second term governor, dumped the opposition side for the APC in May 2021, to align with the federal government to attract more projects to his state.
Bello Matawalle of Zamfara
Amid insecurity in the North West state, Matawalle defected to the APC in June 2021, to align with the central government in addressing the crisis in his state. He lost his reelection in 2023. Matawalle is currently the Minister of State for Defence.
Sheriff Oborevwori of Delta
Oborevwori, who was elected on the platform of the PDP in 2023, dumped the party alongside his predecessor, Ifeanyi Okowa, cabinet members, and the state assembly members in April 2025.
Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom
Eno is the newest bride in the ruling party. After publicly expressing his support for President Bola Tinubu’s administration and reelection, the Akwa Ibom governor made the move on Friday.
