Some chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party have faulted the endorsement of President Bola Tinubu by the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Umo Eno, and the former governor of Ekiti State, Ayodele Fayose. Sunday Punch reports.
The PDP chieftains, including a former Deputy National Vice Chairman, Chief Bode George and Deputy National Youth Leader of the party, Timothy Osadolor, said Eno and Fayose’s position was capable of undermining the unity and future of the party.
Eno, a PDP governor, had during the official flag-off of the 65-kilometre, three-lane dual carriageway section of the highway project in Nsit-Antai Local Government Area of the state last week, declared support for Tinubu’s re-election.
“Let me end by assuring our people-loving President that we will stand by him. He deserves to complete his eight years in office. He cannot start this work and abandon it. Someone else may not finish it with the same passion. Me, I’m supporting Baba Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term,” he stated.
This was as Fayose ruled out the chances of the PDP in the 2027 election, saying, “It is better to allow Asiwaju (Tinubu) to complete his tenure because this is a southern slot. Everybody is fighting for their survival.”
Reacting, George expressed disappointment at Eno’s stance, describing it as dangerous.
“I don’t bother about whatever Fayose says or what he is doing, but I am very worried about the governor — a sitting governor of our party in Akwa Ibom,” he said.
The PDP chieftain warned that Eno’s decision could damage the party’s prospects ahead of the 2027 elections.
“I will advise him (Eno), as a leader of this party and as a father of this party, to take things easy. Taking that kind of decision without consultation with the national body of the party or with other stakeholders is undermining our party ahead of the 2027 election,” he said.
George added that the move was unprecedented in Akwa Ibom’s political history, urging the governor to reconsider his position.
“He should recant his comment in the interest of the history of this country, because what would he be remembered for? It has never happened in Akwa Ibom. It was a wrong decision,” said George.
Also, the Deputy National Youth Leader of the party, Timothy Osadolor, berated the duo, stating that they were not in a position to decide the direction the party will go in 2027.
Speaking with Sunday PUNCH, Osadolor said, “If there is a state that is 100 per cent PDP, that state is Akwa Ibom. Mr Eno is the governor of the state, but he is not in a position to decide the political direction of PDP members in the state. His endorsement of President Tinubu is personal to him and has nothing to do with our party.”
On Fayose, Osadolor said, “Nobody takes the former governor seriously anymore. He is at liberty to say whatever he likes because he owns his mouth, but the party is not bothered by the comments of Ayo Fayose.”
Commenting on the crisis rocking the party, a member of the House of Representatives, Wole Oke, decried the crisis rocking the PDP.
Oke described PDP as a party gasping for breath.
“The PDP is in big trouble, and it is gasping for breath,” he said.
He expressed worry that with less than two years to the next election cycle, the party was still swimming from one crisis to another, even as some of its chieftains were openly endorsing Tinubu for a second term in office.
