According to a NewsVista reporter, President Bola Tinubu on Friday, July 18, received Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom and Senate President Godswill Akpabio at the presidential villa in Abuja.
The meeting, confirmed in a tweet by presidential aide Bayo Onanuga, comes shortly after Governor Eno dumped the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC). Onanuga also noted that Eno is now the APC leader in Akwa Ibom State.
This move makes Eno the second South-South governor in two months to defect from the PDP to the APC.
However, the political shift has come at a cost. The governor has already lost two cabinet members—Ini Ememobong, Commissioner for Information, and Chris Abasi Eyo, his Special Adviser on Media—both of whom resigned after refusing to join him in the APC. Eyo’s resignation letter, which is now trending online, cited Eno’s directive for cabinet members to follow his lead or step down.
Explaining his decision, Governor Eno pointed to the ongoing internal crisis within the PDP and praised President Tinubu’s leadership style. He also expressed his desire to freely campaign for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
The high-level meeting at the Villa signals growing momentum for the APC in the South-South region as political realignments continue ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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