By Solomon OKPO
A former presidential adviser and ex-senator, Ita Enang, says he will not challenge Governor Umo Eno for the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship ticket in Akwa Ibom State ahead of the 2027 elections, citing what he describes as a national agreement guaranteeing automatic return tickets for defecting governors.
Mr Enang, who fought unsuccessfully for the APC ticket in 2023 all the way to the Supreme Court, told PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday that the party had resolved to hand Governor Eno the nomination without opposition following his defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in June.
“I will not contest the governorship ticket against Governor Eno. I would rather support him and President Bola Tinubu,” he said. “There is an understanding with defecting governors to get an automatic return ticket, and I am a party to that agreement.”
Defection and Political Trade-Offs
Governor Eno’s move to the APC ended the PDP’s 24-year dominance in Akwa Ibom State but came at a political cost. Before switching parties, he vowed to maintain control of the PDP’s structure, hoping to keep adversaries at bay. That plan collapsed after the PDP national leadership dissolved the state executive committee and installed a caretaker team, leaving the governor politically adrift and vulnerable to backlash from both sides.
Eno now faces hostility from elements within the APC wary of his sudden rise in the party, while PDP leaders accuse him of betrayal and are mobilising behind an alternative 2027 candidate.
Though declaring full support for the governor, Mr Enang warned that APC members who built the party long before Eno’s defection the so-called “Legacy APC” must not be sidelined in the new political arrangement.
“Legacy APC members should be accommodated in different elective and appointive positions at the local, state, and national level,” he said. “We should not be treated as if we are being acquired and given no voice.”
His comments reflect growing frustration among long-standing party members who feel displaced by incoming defectors now occupying key positions.
Transparency Questions Over ‘National Agreement’: Mr Enang’s claim of a national-level deal guaranteeing defecting governors automatic tickets has stirred debate within the APC, with critics saying such arrangements undermine internal democracy and transparency.
The former senator emphasised that his withdrawal was in line with party instructions, suggesting his decision was more compelled than voluntary.
Mr Enang lost the 2023 APC gubernatorial primary which he alleges was held “at midnight” to Akanimo Udofia, another PDP defector. Udofia’s victory led to a prolonged legal tussle before the Supreme Court affirmed him as the APC candidate. He eventually placed third in the governorship election, which Governor Eno won under the PDP banner.
With Eno now positioned to carry the APC flag in 2027, the party faces the challenge of balancing its electoral strategies with the grievances of its foundational members.
