Akwa Ibom State Governor, Udom Emmanuel is set to lavish hundreds of millions of naira of taxpayers’ money on thanksgiving service for his anointed successor, Rev. Umo Eno, who is presently the Commissioner of Lands and Water Resources in the state.
Eno, who is also an ally of Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, will be honoured at a Grand Thanksgiving Service on Saturday, September 25, 2021 at Ikot Ekpene Udo, Nsit Ubium Local Government Area.
The event which is planned to signal the commencement of succession politics, was deliberately fixed to coincide with activities slated to commemorate the 34th anniversary of the creation of Akwa Ibom.
This will kick off with the official visit of Vice President Osinbajo to the state.
Osinbajo is billed to visit the state on Friday, September 24, 2021 to inaugurate the newly completed 21 storey Dakkada Towers built by Emmanuel’s administration in the state.
Many believe that the timing of the VP’s visit is connected with the grand scheme to endorse Eno.
Sources in state confirmed to SaharaReporters that the governor is already injecting funds into the project ‘Umo Eno’ with the assurance from some of his respected pastor friends that the Nsit Ubium-born cleric turned politician is divinely ordained to take over from him.
One of the sources said, “The Governor has given the commissioner a brand new bullet-proof Land Cruiser SUV and he has also increased the security details around him. The Governor is doing everything within his power to ensure that he installs Eno as his successor.”
Eno’s recent appointment as Commissioner of Lands and Water Resources was believed to be a first step in his journey to the seat of government.
SaharaReporters gathered that Eno has been a very close friend and ally of Osinbajo for years and his presence in the state was to bless his political ambition.
This development has heightened political tension in the state as some leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are not favourably disposed to the choice of Eno as Governor in 2023.
They have queried the decision of the Governor to foist his candidate on the state against the will of the people.
