The President Bola Tinubu yet-to-be disclosed second term bid got a boost Tuesday following the declaration of support by Akwa Ibom state Governor Umo Eno, who said the people of the state “will stand by him to complete eight years” in office.
The position of Eno, a People’s Democratic Party (PDP) governor, sharply contrasts that of his colleagues, who at the end of the PDP Governors’ Forum(PDPGF)’s meeting recently in Ibadan, Oyo state, expressed their party’s desire to unseat Tinubu come 2027.
At the end of the meeting, the PDP said the party would not be part of any coalition against the APC, apparently rejecting the plan by the former Nigerian Vice-President Atiku Abubakar and other politicians to form a new coalition ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Atiku was the PDP presidential candidate in the 2023 election.
…The open support
Speaking in Uyo at the flag-off of the Akwa Ibom – Cross River states section of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, Eno openly declared his people’s support for Tinubu’s second tenure.
He said: “Let me end by assuring our people-loving president, who will complete eight years because we are going to stand by him. And this is the truth. He cannot start this work and abandon it. Somebody else may not finish it.”
Going divine, the governor said: “The Bible says, who is this mountain that is standing before Zerubabel? The hand that started this work. That hand shall complete it. Our prayers for Mr. President is for good health to finish the work that he started and commission this work so that this work will not be abandoned like the East-West Road.”
According to him, Akwa Ibom “is one state where you find political parties whether APC or PDP always come together when it has to do with progress, projects and infrastructure.
“For us in Akwa Ibom, a party is just a platform to contest elections. Party will never change who you are, who you are willing to be.
“And so we do not allow parties to create problems amongst us. We work together, live together. We are from the same ancestral roots. Party is just where you choose to be.”
…Tinubu flags off project
Flagging off the construction of Section 3A of the proposed 750km Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, President Tinubu said the 3-lane dual carriageway project would resuscitate the economy of Cross River and other states within the region as well as boost transatlantic trade.
Section 3A, which begins in Awi, Akamkpa local government area of Cross River state, and measures 65km, links Section 3B in Akwa Ibom state.
In his message, Tinubu, who was represented by the Cross River state Governor Bassey Otu stated that “the project is an economic enabler, job creation booster, intra and interregional integration link, facilitator of cultural exchange and all other verticals that are involved with it.
“With the recent ground-breaking ceremony of the Special Agro-Industrial Processing zone, the products from this zone will have seamless evacuation corridors to reach the teeming consumers within and outside the shores of the country.”
He urged people of the state, especially the locals within the Akamkpa and Odukpani corridors, to reawaken their entrepreneurial spirit so as to take advantage of the opportunities.
The president promised that in line with his Renewed Hope Agenda, the federal government would continue to support businesses by creating the enabling environment as well as ensure Nigeria attains self-sufficiency in terms of food security and road infrastructure.
Also speaking, the Minister of Works, Senator David Umahi, described the commencement of Section 3A construction of the 750 km coastal highway as a fascinating development and a dream come true for the people of Cross River state.
“It is only somebody like President Tinubu, who can do something like this. It is only a man like this that had this dream 27years back and it is God, who gave him the wisdom to dream. It is also by God’s special grace that he has the opportunity to realize his dream,” the minister stated.
Tinubu, the minister said, had since assumption of office, invested massively in road infrastructure development across the country, noting that the coastal highway would be one of other international trade corridors to be constructed in the state.(Additional report from Premium Times