The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee has welcomed the defection of Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, fErom the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), expressing satisfaction with his decision.

The party described Eno’s move as a well-considered choice that would promote further development in Akwa Ibom and benefit its residents.

In a statement issued Friday on X by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Felix Morka, and titled APC Welcomes Akwa Ibom State Governor, Umo Eno, Into Party, the APC gave the governor assurance of full support and integration.

The statement read, “The National Working Committee of All Progressives Congress (APC) under the leadership of His Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje is delighted at the news of the Governor of Akwa Ibom state, Umo Eno’s decision to join our great Party.

“We are confident that his thoughtful decision will inure to the greater progress of Akwa Ibom state and people.

“Our great party assures the governor of its fullest cooperation and accommodation in the APC family, as we continue to grow the Party and work together towards the full realisation of the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, for the good and benefit of all Nigerians.”

Eno officially left the PDP and joined the APC on Friday.

He explained that his move to the APC was to enable him to fully back the economic initiatives of President Bola Tinubu.

“We are not joining the APC from a position of weakness, we are joining the APC from a position of strength,” he added.

Eno’s switch came just a few weeks after Delta State Governor, Sheriff Oborevwori, also left the PDP for the APC.

Two weeks earlier, Eno had directed his commissioners and appointees to either follow him into the APC or step down from their roles.

Siminalayi Fubara, the suspended governor of Rivers state, met with President Bola Tinubu on Tuesday at the president’s residence in Lagos.

The meeting happened just days after Fubara said he had put aside pride and personal ambition in order to promote peace in Rivers state.

Details of what was discussed during the meeting between Fubara and the president were not disclosed at the time.

Fubara recently stated he is making efforts to reconcile with Nyesom Wike, the former governor and current minister of the federal capital territory, whom he described as his boss.

“We have to come down from our high horses and subject ourselves to the peace process. And that is what we are doing,” he had said.

“What is important is for the state to move forward. It is not about you — the state’s interest is paramount.”

Recall that the political crisis in Rivers began as a conflict for control between Fubara and Wike shortly after Fubara took office.

The tension intensified and created a serious rift in the Rivers state house of assembly, eventually leading to moves to impeach Fubara.

President Tinubu declared a state of emergency in Rivers on March 18, citing the ongoing political unrest.

As part of the response, Tinubu suspended Fubara, his deputy Ngozi Odu, and every member of the state assembly for six months.

He appointed Ibok-Ette Ibas, a retired naval officer, as the interim administrator for the state.

The Federal Capital Territory Minister, Nyesom Wike, on Monday, criticized Bode George, a member of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees, over his remarks about the party’s ground rent debt owed to the Federal Capital Territory Administration.

George had previously stated that Wike should have paid the outstanding ground rent to show his loyalty to the party, especially since the unpaid amount led to the closure of the PDP’s national headquarters.

However, during a live session with selected journalists on Monday, Wike responded that neither he nor George was responsible for paying the rent, as the debt was not under their names. He also mentioned that George himself owed the FCTA.

He said, “I read what he said. If an old man has no job, sit down in your house and read newspapers. Bode George said the PDP made me, and PDP gave me a national name. I agree.

“A party cannot make you; you are the one that will make the party popular to win an election. I agree that the PDP made me.”

Wike further stated that, in contrast to what has happened in Lagos, he had made significant efforts for the PDP, helping it win in Rivers State and at the federal level.

He said, “Ask Bode George, ‘Who did the PDP make in Lagos since 1999?’ Not anyone and then you are talking to me who has laboured, campaigned, and won for the party to be the major party in the state and at the national level.

“Meanwhile in your state, the party every day is crying, complaining from 1999. Even when we were in power, we knew what we did to make sure that PDP took over in Lagos. It didn’t work; even when Jonathan came, it didn’t work.”

While appearing on Channels Television’s Politics Today on May 29, 2025, George expressed disappointment that Wike, a PDP member and Minister of the FCT, was in charge when the FCTA sealed the party’s headquarters.

“What is ₦7 million? He should have just said to them, ‘Okay, ₦7 million, I’ll pay from my pocket. Take the receipt back to the party’s secretariat. You see, you people are foolish.

“‘I’m completely committed to this house; I am completely loyal to this house. I will not decimate it. This is the receipt, give me back my money.’ That is what you call a true son of that family,” he added.

Last Monday, the FCTA sealed the PDP national headquarters, also called Wadata Plaza, as part of an operation involving the revocation of 4,794 properties due to non-payment of ground rent over periods ranging from 10 to 43 years.

The properties affected included those belonging to government bodies, companies, and individuals.

After President Bola Tinubu’s intervention, defaulters were given an additional 14 days to clear their outstanding ground rent payments and any penalties that applied.