As President Bola Tinubu visits Akwa Ibom State on Friday, November 6, Etim Etim takes a look at the lessons learnt since Tinubu first visited the State 12 years ago.
There’s excitement in the air as Akwa Ibom State expects the arrival of President Bola Tinubu on Friday, November 6, 2026 for a working visit. It’s a proud moment for Governor Umo Eno who has a lot to show off. Some landmark projects have been lined up for inauguration by the President. Among them are the world-class terminal airport building which many have been talking about and the iconic Arise Palm Resort, a recreation and tourism facility built on a reclaimed parcel of land that was previously ravaged by gully erosion.
It would be the third time that Asiwaju Tinubu would set foot on Akwa Ibom soil, the first being November 27, 2014 when Tinubu, then APC National Leader, visited the state to receive defecting Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) members into his party. Leading the defectors then was Obong Umana Okon Umana, who was a few months before the Secretary to the State Government in the Akpabio administration and a key ally of the governor. Umana moved with 10,000 PDP members initially, but later grew to over 30,000 as more people joined the party. They included no fewer than 10 serving House of Assembly and House of Representatives members.
Among those who were received into the party by Asiwaju were former minister of Petroleum, Chief Don Etiebet; the late Ime Umana (Lagos based businessman who lived next door to Asiwaju in Lagos); Dr. Chris Ekong (now Professor and Vice Chancellor of University of Uyo); Engr. Alphonsus Ekon; the late Akanimo Edet; former Deputy Speaker of the State House of Assembly, the late Okon Uwah; another former deputy speaker, Hon Uwem Udomah and Chief Ita Awak. There were also Chief Sunny Udom; Dr. John Harry; Chief Sunny Anyang; Chief Perry Ntuk; former Minister Rita Akpan; late Dr. Maurice Ebong; Chief Sunny Jackson and Dr. Ita Udosen.
I remember also former minister, Dr. Ime Okopido; Mrs Geraldine Ita Etuk; Obong Cyril Ekiko; former Akwa Ibom First Lady, Imo Isemin (now late); Dr. Emem Wills; Chief Sam Frank; Chief Victor Iyanam and many others. Most of them were commissioners and officials in the administrations of Obong Attah and Akpabio, while others were former ministers, Permanent Secretaries and top government officials.
That afternoon, I went to the airport with Obong Umana to receive Asiwaju and his delegation, while the crowd was waiting at Asan Ibibio. As a member of his media team, Obong Umana found me useful for many assignments: protocol, PR, intelligence gathering, monitoring and of course, our core duties: media and publicity. I had just retired from banking and I found the whole political process rambunctiously exciting.
Dressed in a simple grey kaftan, Asiwaju arrived in a private jet with Chief Bisi Akande, Chief Niyi Adebayo, former Ekiti governor; Chief Lai Mohammed and some others. It was a few months to the 2015 general election, and so, many of the party’s presidential aspirants, notably Muhammadu Buhari; Atiku Abubarkar; Rabiu Musa Kwakwanso and the late Sam Nda-Isaiha, then publisher of Leadership newspaper, also came – separately in private jets – mainly to court the new members, some of whom would be delegates in the national convention that was coming up just a month away. Akwa Ibom airport was filled with airplanes of different models and sizes. It was, undoubtedly, the busiest day in the life of the airport which began operations five years prior.
We all moved in buses to Asan Ibibio, venue of the reception rally, where the defectors were formally received into APC. On the drive from the airport, the long motorcade turned into Shelter Afrique estate and headed for the residence of former governor, Victor Attah, to pay a courtesy visit on him. Umanah had served as Attah’s Commissioner for Finance in his second term (2003 – 2007), and the two had maintained good personal relationships since. Now, with Umanah and Attah not in good terms with Akpabio – the outgoing governor who was fighting had to impose a successor – Attah and Umana became politically closer.
Attah welcomed Asiwaju and the delegation warmly and told them that Umana was the most qualified to be the next governor. It was an audacious endorsement for Umana who had just been forced out of PDP because of his governorship ambition, and was about joining another party. Attah himself had not formally joined the APC by then, but it was clear to everyone that he had a soft spot for the party. His frosty relationship with Akpabio created big psychological and political challenges to the old man. Akwa Ibom was tense and divided along ethnic lines.
It was getting to around 4pm, and we quickly left Attah’s residence and sped to Asan Ibibio. The attendance of so many bigwigs from different parts of the country at the rally and the sheer size of the new joiners was quite an intimidating sight. It was probably the biggest APC event since the founding of the party in February, 2013. Although I was part of the organizers, I didn’t expect that crowd size. Asiwaju was visibly excited to see such a crowd of senior politicians. He warmly welcomed us into the party and promised to create a level-playing field for all contenders. Gov. Akpabio was unusually humbled by the event and the caliber of the attendees. Both Umana and Akpabio had served as commissioners in the Attah administration and had forged close friendship. Umana’s support for Akpabio to become governor was legendary. His falling out with Akpabio and subsequent defection to the APC occurred at dizzying speed and blindsided many a pundit.
The following month (December 2014), Umana won the governorship primary held at the Uyo township stadium and Buhari won the Presidential primary held at Teslim Balogun Statdium, Surulere, Lagos. I attended both events and saw history unfold. The governorship campaigns of that year and the ensuing violence literally shook the state to its foundations. I should not forget to add that four years earlier, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe had defected from the PDP to Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN), one of the four legacy parties that merged to form the APC. It was the first cataclysmic shift in the texture of opposition politics in the state, and had prepared the people for more of such events that came later.
Now, we have President Tinubu arriving for a working visit this Friday, 12 years after he first came as an opposition leader to receive us into his party. Then, he had touched down in a hostile environment, but warmly received by brave new supporters. Now, the whole state – government and the people – are all for him; supporting and rooting for him.
What lessons can we glean from this?
First, Akwa Ibom State was an early contributor to the growth of APC as a party. APC members in Akwa Ibom State were the first in the South-South to turn the party’s platform into a formidable and strong opposition party. Since then, APC has grown in leaps and bounds in the state, culminating in Governor Eno emptying the whole PDP into it last year. Akwa Ibom state should therefore not be treated as a mere footnote in the scheme of things in the party.
Umana himself was quite reflective when I called to ask him for his recollections and thoughts. He chose his words carefully, as he’s wont to do: ‘’Looking back, we can see how politics can be dynamic. By then, we were dubbed traitors for leaving PDP, which was said to be a religion in the state…we were called different names for supporting a Northerner… for not supporting Jonathan, the son of the South-South. But all that we did was rooted in local politics of the time. “We were waging a struggle against an incumbent who had so much resources… it took a lot of courage. We were fighting against an unjust system because were not satisfied with the internal processes within the PDP by that time. Many of our supporters were induced, but a lot were not persuaded to go back…’’
Talking about the injustices and unfair internal processes in PDP took my mind to what has eventually happened to that party. Are we learning?
Senator Akpabio himself joined APC in August 2018 – four years after Umana – in what was then the most stunning political upset in the National Assembly. His defection helped stabilize the Buhari Presidency which was by then tormented by the then-Senate President, Dr Bukola Saraki. It is therefore important that the President remembers his earlier pledge to support the state build a deep sea port. The state government has already invested so much in the preliminary works, including producing a feasibility report, but the backing of the federal government is essential to bring it to fruition.
Governor Eno has staked his political capital on the President’s willingness to help us achieve our dream project. The people will therefore be listening keenly to the President’s pronouncement on this when he visits. If he fails to live up to his words to support the state, Akwa Ibom people will feel a terrible sense of letdown, the political implications of which is difficult to fathom.
The second time Asiwaju visited Akwa Ibom was in 2023 when he came for Presidential campaign rally.
Source: https://www.thisdaylive.com/2026/11/05/tinubu-in-akwa-ibom-lessons-from-history/