Umo Eno, the governor of Akwa Ibom State, fired two political assistants who disobeyed him by going to the just finished Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) national conference in Ibadan, Oyo State.
Felix Ekuri, Special Assistant on Neighborhood Watch, and Joseph Jacob Ikpak, Senior Special Assistant to the Governor on Support Services, are the impacted assistants.
In a statement released in Uyo on Monday, Enobong Uwah, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), confirmed their expulsion.
Uwah claimed that the choice was a component of the governor’s “continuous restructuring exercise to align the machinery of government towards the success of the Renewed Hope and ARISE Agenda.”
However, Premium Times was informed by government insiders that the aides’ attendance at the PDP convention was the true cause of their dismissal. Since the announcement, pictures of both guys from the Ibadan event have gone viral on Facebook.
According to sources inside Government House in Uyo, Governor Eno has called all political aides to an urgent meeting on Wednesday because he is clearly unhappy with the development.
A senior official stated, “A notice for the meeting has already been sent out by the SSG,” pointing out that tensions within the administration had increased.
The All Progressives Congress (APC), to which Governor Eno defected in June, has caused loyalty problems for his administration.
It is reported that a large number of commissioners and political appointees still support the PDP and are faithful to his predecessor, former governor Udom Emmanuel.
Disagreements over the distribution of political jobs between core APC members and those who defected from the PDP, such as the governor, have exacerbated the internal split.
Ini Ememobong, a former commissioner who resigned rather than join Eno in the APC, was chosen as the PDP’s national spokesperson on Saturday at the convention, underscoring the political divide.
