BY BEN OGBEMUDIA

The PDP Young Professionals, a political group in Akwa Ibom State, has challenged the Governor of Akwa Ibom State, Pastor Umo Eno, to publicly commit to resigning from office if the Ibom Deep Seaport does not begin operations within two years.

In a press release issued on Monday, the group said it was holding Governor Eno accountable after he claimed to have defected from the PDP to the ruling APC in order to secure the support of President Bola Tinubu for the actualization of the seaport.

“If the seaport is indeed the prize promised for this political surrender, then let the governor commit publicly that if operations do not commence within two years, he will resign from office. That would be the honourable thing to do, given that this was the fundamental justification painted for the defection,” the group stated.

They argued that none of the key speeches at the reception rally—neither that of the APC National Chairman nor the Vice President—demonstrated a clear or unequivocal commitment to the seaport project.

“Instead, the entire focus was on declaring and cementing Governor Eno’s place as APC’s local political leader,” the statement read. “It is telling that a ceremony of such financial magnitude would yield no concrete gains, no presidential assurances, no development commitments—just theatre. There would have been far more efficient and prudent use of our state resources than staging that charade.”

The statement was jointly signed by the group’s Convener, Mr. Ewa Okpo, a lawyer, and its Secretary, Mr. Ebitu Michael.

The group’s stance was in response to an earlier statement by Mr. Assam Assam, a former PDP chieftain and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who also defected to the APC. Assam had defended Governor Eno’s defection, citing the PDP’s alleged marginalization of Akwa Ibom while it was the ruling party at the centre.