by Saviour Imukudo
Ndianaabasi Udom, an aide to Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State, has resigned from his appointment with the Akwa Ibom State Rural Access Roads Agency.
Mr Udom (not a relative of former Governor Udom Emmanuel) posted his resignation letter on Facebook on Tuesday, 30 September.
The letter is dated 30 September and addressed to Governor Eno.
“Kindly find attached my original letter of appointment, dated 21 June 2023, which took effect from 1 June 2023,” Mr Udom wrote in the resignation letter.
Akwa Ibom Rural Access Roads Agency
In his economic blueprints, the Arise Agenda, Mr Eno prioritises agriculture and rural development, a policy he said will stem the tide of rural-urban migration.
The Akwa Ibom State Rural Access Roads Agency facilitates the implementation of this policy by ensuring the construction and rehabilitation of rural roads to aid connectivity between rural communities, farms, and major markets.
Mr Udom’s appointment was among the earliest made by Mr Eno. He previously served in the administration of Mr Eno’s predecessor, Udom Emmanuel, as a senior special assistant in charge of multilateral and donor agencies.
Mr Udom is considered a loyalist of the former governor.
Although he did not disclose the reason for his resignation, he is among the 31-member caretaker committee of the Akwa Ibom PDP, which the party’s National Working Committee constituted after dissolving the former state executive.
Mr Udom declined to comment on the matter when PREMIUM TIMES contacted him on Wednesday.
Two other aides to Governor Eno, including a commissioner, had earlier resigned, saying they could not defect with the governor to the APC.
Defection
Mr Eno, elected governor in 2023 under the PDP platform, defected to the APC in June, ending the PDP’s over two decades of rule in the oil-rich state.
His predecessor, Mr Emmanuel, who helped him to become governor, has refused to join the governor in the APC, a decision that has made Mr Emmanuel the leader of the opposition in the state.
The former PDP chairperson in Akwa Ibom, Aniekan Akpan, has refused to vacate office after the party’s National Working Committee sacked him and others.
Speaking at a press briefing at the PDP Secretariat in Uyo on Wednesday, Mr Akpan accused the PDP NWC of acting outside its powers, claiming that no formal meeting was convened to approve the dissolution. He cited a letter signed by the party’s National Secretary, Samuel Anyanwu, which affirmed that no decision was taken to disband the Akwa Ibom executives.
Since Mr Eno’s defection, political blackmail now thrives in Akwa Ibom, with politicians accusing one another of not being “fully loyal” to the governor.
