VP Shettima To Akwa Ibom Gov: Feel At Home, President Tinubu Is A Bridge Builder, Deep-Rooted Democrat

 

Vice President, Senator Kashim Shettima, has assured Akwa Ibom State Governor Umo Eno and his supporters who followed him from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to join the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) that they won't regret their decision to be part of the governing party.

He said the leader of the party, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, specifically asked him to inform the Governor that the APC will be home to him, and that no one will humiliate him or question his place in the party fold.

Senator Shettima spoke on Saturday in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital, where he represented the President at the Grand Reception of Governor Umo Eno into the APC fold held at Godswill Akpabio International Stadium.

Addressing the mammoth crowd of APC supporters who thronged the venue of the grand reception, the Vice President described his boss, President Tinubu, as a bridge-builder and deep-rooted democrat who sacrificed his resources to sustain the struggle to defend the nation's democracy.

The Vice President further gave the new APC entrants important insights into the workings of the party, saying the governing APC is "not a party of vanity metrics," which is why it has remained the party to beat ten years after.

On his part, Governor Eno said his decision to join the APC was necessitated by the desire to align with the renewed hope Tinubu administration at the centre so he can rise with the progressives.

He said joining the APC will help actualise the infrastructure drive in Akwa Ibom State, including the Deep-Sea Port project that has been lingering for as long as thirty years.

Also in his address, National Chairman of the APC, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, described the mammoth crowd as intimidating, saying the people came out of their own volition to join Governor Umo Eno because they believe in the APC.

On his part, Senate President Godswill Akpabio described the Vice President as the most intelligent and a man of integrity.

Noting that the crowd does not indicate a defection but a movement, he said the South-South has not only produced the wealth that has kept Nigeria going, but has always identified with the centre.

The Senate President said he was surprised when the zone went a different way in 2023, thanking the governor for the movement, assuring the people of the state that the Deep Sea Project and other requests from the state would be granted by the federal government.

Also, Chairman of the Progressive Governors Forum and Governor of Imo State, Hope Uzodimma, thanked “Governor Umo Eno for the wise decision he has taken to join the moving train on the path of national development.”

Welcoming dignitaries who graced the event, the Governor of Cross River State, Prince Bassey Otu, said it was a great day in the history of the South-South.

The highlight of the event was the handing of the flag and broom, which are the symbols of the party, to the Governor by the National Chairman, saying it is a symbol of progress and authority.