Senate President Godswill Akpabio has formally handed over the structure of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Akwa Ibom to the State Governor, Umo Eno.
“I want to formally hand over the APC structure in Akwa Ibom to the new leader of the party in the state,” Mr Akpabio remarked at the ceremony in Government House, Uyo, on Friday. “By symbolically handing over the broom that will sweep away poverty, underdevelopment, and disunity from Akwa Ibom.”
Mr Akpabio’s remarks drew applause from party faithful in the banquet hall where the event took place.
Mr Eno formally joined the ruling APC last month, ending the 26-year rule of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Akwa Ibom, the party whose platform he was elected governor.
At the ceremony held to receive him into the APC, the governor said he was not afraid of joining the party, stressing that it is through the APC that Akwa Ibom would realise the Ibom Deep Seaport project, began over two decades ago by the administration of then-Governor Victor Attah.
“We are not afraid of joining the APC, for we know that with the APC we would realise our Ibom Deep Seaport. That is our plea. For over 30 years, Akwa Ibom has struggled to have a seaport, but today we are reassured that the federal government will help us to realise the seaport,” he said.
At the event, Mr Eno thanked the people of the state for supporting him and promised to remain the governor for all, irrespective of his political alignment.
Mr Akpabio, who represents Akwa Ibom North-West in the Senate, was the leader of the party in the state until last month.
The former National Chairperson of the party, Abdullahi Ganduje, had at the reception ceremony announced Mr Eno as the new leader of the party in the state.
Mr Ganduje, who recently resigned as the party’s national chairperson, declared at the event that the Senate president, Mr Akpabio, is a national leader of the party.
Mr Akpabio, a former governor of the state, formally handed over the party structure in the state to Mr Eno on Friday at the ceremony attended by leaders of the party.
