Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, on Tuesday declared that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu will serve two full terms in office, expressing firm support for the current administration despite belonging to the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Speaking at the flag-off of the Akwa Ibom section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Eno stated, “President Tinubu will be here for eight years. We must support this project and align with the national agenda.”
Governor Eno’s comments come at a politically sensitive time as former Vice President and PDP’s 2023 presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, steps up efforts to build a coalition of opposition parties aimed at challenging the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
Atiku has recently held strategic meetings with prominent political figures, including former Kaduna State Governor Nasir El-Rufai and Labour Party’s Peter Obi, in Abuja.
Despite these coalition talks, PDP governors have publicly distanced the party from any merger plans.
“The PDP will not join any coalition or merger,” Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed said on Monday while presenting the communiqué of the PDP Governors’ Forum in Ibadan.
“But the party welcomes individuals or groups willing to join it.”
During the same meeting, the PDP set May 27 for its long-awaited National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting and scheduled its national convention for August 28–30 in Kano.
The forum also announced the formation of zoning and convention committees and appointed Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshedo as acting National Secretary, dismissing the claims of Senator Samuel Anyanwu and Monday Udeh-Okoye to that position.
Adding to the internal party debate, PDP Board of Trustees member Bode George voiced support for the current position of the PDP governors and opposed another presidential bid by Atiku.
“Atiku cannot be a PDP presidential candidate. There is zoning that must be respected. The North had eight years. The South should have eight years,” George asserted.
As at the time of this report, the national leadership of the PDP has yet to formally respond to Governor Eno’s statement endorsing Tinubu’s two-term presidency.
