{"id":166423,"date":"2025-06-10T12:36:27","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T11:36:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/uncategorized\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno"},"modified":"2025-06-10T13:37:53","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T12:37:53","slug":"pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno","title":{"rendered":"PDP chieftain, Essien debunks defecting to APC with Gov Eno"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. <\/strong><\/span>A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Nduese Essien has debunked reports that he had joined the Akwa Ibom governor, Umo Eno to the All Progressives Congress, APC.<\/p>\n

Essien, who is one of the backbones in Eno\u2019s administration, was spotted on Friday at the government house during the governor\u2019s defection to APC. His presence has since sparked speculation that he is now of the APC.<\/p>\n

Few days into the rumour, senator Essien in a statement he personally signed and made available to journalists in Uyo on Tuesday said he attended the event in solidarity with the governor as an elder statesman and as an indigene of Akwa Ibom, adding that such has nothing to do with his party stance.<\/p>\n

He said he has chosen to function purely as an elder statesman-offering advice, promoting peace, and standing for what he feels is just and equitable in the state and country at the time he clocked 70 in 2014, retired from active politics and decided not to contest for any elective office.<\/p>\n

His words, \u2018let me state without ambiguity: I have not defected from any party to another. My attendance at the event was not a declaration of political affiliation but a demonstration of support for the governor, who has shown a rare level of maturity and inclusiveness in governance.\u2019<\/p>\n

Essien while noting that the governor\u2019s defection was borne out of his (Eno)personal political decision, backed by his constitutional right; said he has no right to question or cajole the governor to reposition himself politically.<\/p>\n

\u201dSeeing the unending nature of the controversy in PDP, the Governor has taken the right decision to secure his next election in a party platform that is relatively stable, for now, at the National level. Joining the APC naturally takes him to work with the Government at the centre with envisaged ancillary benefits. It is my wish that his hopes be fulfilled in this regards,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Essien, however, kicked against governor Eno\u2019s alleged decision to force members of the state, National Assembly and Chairmen of Local Governments to APC saying, \u201dthis calls into question the sincerity of the governor\u2019s commitment to inclusiveness and political tolerance. These elected officers are operating on a separate and independent mandate and should be free to take their decision.\u201d<\/p>\n

Essien also observed that governor Eno before his defection to APC had shown admirable level of support and cooperation with the Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, and the president, Bola Ahmed Tinubu as seen in his endorsement of the duo for a second term, despite being a PDP governor.<\/p>\n

He regretted that such magnanimity has not been reciprocated by the Senate President or his political machinery in terms of appointments, empowerment programmes, and political opportunities saying that such privileges had remained exclusive to APC loyalists, leaving out PDP members and even those who have chosen neutrality for the sake of peace.<\/p>\n

\u2018In contrast, Governor Umo Eno has empowered citizens across party lines, ensured that appointments reflect the state\u2019s diversity, and resisted the temptation to weaponise government against perceived opponents. That is commendable. But the current moves to exclude or sideline those who refuse to defect with him could erode that legacy of fairness and compromise.\u2019<\/p>\n

Essien, urged political actors and supporters not to overheat the polity with the governor\u2019s defection but work with him to promote the peace, unity and development in the state pledging that as an elder statesman he would continue to lend his voice and wisdom to ensure that \u2018political differences do not tear us apart but are managed with dignity, maturity, and mutual respect.\u2019<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Nigeria<\/span> Follow Africa-Press<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Nigeria. A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Nduese Essien has debunked reports that he had joined the Akwa Ibom governor, Umo Eno to the All Progressives Congress, APC. Essien, who is one of the backbones in Eno\u2019s administration, was spotted on Friday […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":166421,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[24,16],"tags":[109,254,65],"class_list":["post-166423","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-parties","tag-essien","tag-nigeria","tag-pdp"],"yoast_head":"\nPDP chieftain, Essien debunks defecting to APC with Gov Eno - Nigeria<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Nduese Ess ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"PDP chieftain, Essien debunks defecting to APC with Gov Eno\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP and former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Nduese Ess ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nigeria\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-06-10T11:36:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2025-06-10T12:37:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/sm_1749546541.122128.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"789\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"PDP chieftain, Essien debunks defecting to APC with Gov Eno\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-06-10T11:36:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2025-06-10T12:37:53+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno\"},\"wordCount\":634,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/sites\/3\/2025\/06\/sm_1749546541.122128.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Essien\",\"Nigeria\",\"PDP\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"Parties\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/nigeria\/parties\/pdp-chieftain-essien-debunks-defecting-to-apc-with-gov-eno\",\"name\":\"PDP chieftain, Essien debunks defecting to APC with Gov Eno - 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