FACTS, NOT FALSEHOOD: OKPO’S FACTIONAL FAKE POSTULATION DEBUNKED

FACTS, NOT FALSEHOOD: OKPO’S FACTIONAL FAKE POSTULATION DEBUNKED

The attention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Akwa Ibom State Chapter, and well-meaning Akwa Ibomites has been drawn to a rather desperate and politically charged statement credited to Ewa Okpo, the self acclaimed publicity secretary of a faction of the Peoples Democratic Party in which he called on His Excellency, Pastor Umo Eno, Governor of Akwa Ibom State, to “pack his bags” on the strength of the outcome of the August 15, 2026, Osun State Governorship Election.

Ordinarily, such a poorly constructed political outburst would not deserve a response. However, in the interest of the people and the need to prevent deliberate misinformation from being passed off as fact, it has become necessary to set the record straight.

Okpo’s attempt to manufacture a political “handwriting on the wall” for Akwa Ibom State betrays either a disturbing ignorance of the facts on the ground or a deliberate refusal to acknowledge them. Either way, the Akwa Ibom public deserves better than desperation disguised as political commentary.

First, let it be made abundantly clear that the Osun election is an Osun matter. The people of Osun State exercised their franchise and made their choice. That choice to reelect their governor must be respected. But attempting to mechanically transplant the Osun result into Akwa Ibom politics is not analysis; it is wishful thinking.

Even more revealing is the writer’s attempt to portray the Osun result as a verdict on the administration of Governor Umo Eno. How exactly does an election in another state constitute a performance assessment of an elected governor in Akwa Ibom State? The answer is obvious: it does not.

More importantly, the claim that Governor Umo Eno’s administration has left “neither visible projects on the ground nor feasible ongoing projects” is demonstrably false.

The facts speak loudly.
Since assuming office, the Governor Umo Eno administration has embarked on the construction of more than 1,300 kilometres of roads and 41 bridges , with an additional 167 kilometres approved in 2026. In April 2026 alone, the State Government approved additional ₦123.5 billion for mobilisation, right-of-way compensation, and outstanding certificates relating to new road projects spanning more than 167 kilometres across the State.

This administration has also intervened in inherited road projects, including approved road projects and while completing or advancing projects across the State. The Nsit Atai–Okobo Road and the 11-kilometre Owot Uta–Nung Oku–Edeobom Road are among the infrastructure interventions that directly contradict the claim that nothing is happening in Akwa Ibom.

There is also the completion of the International Terminal at Victor Attah International Airport and the commencement of international flights from our airport, as well as the ongoing development of the Aviation Village, the audacious Arise Palm Resort built on a reclaimed 73 hectares of gullies, the 5000 capacity Ibom International Convention Centre, and the 350 bed – Ibom International Hospital, alongside the ongoing renovation of the Ibom Hotels and Golf Resort.

These are not slogans. They are physical projects whose status can be independently verified.

In the social sector, this administration has constructed and handed over 461 Arise Compassionate Homes, equipped with solar power and water facilities, alongside living grants for beneficiaries. It has also expanded interventions in agriculture, including a ₦2 billion agricultural grant, farm inputs and equipment support, while approving ₦2.5 billion for 620,000 oil-palm seedlings under its tree-crop initiative.

The health sector has not been left behind. Functional Primary Health Centres, with operational capabilities comparable to those of secondary health facilities, have been established across the length and breadth of the State. The administration has also provided top-notch, functional ambulance services to cater for health-related emergencies across the State, with a maximum response time of 10 minutes.

This administration has further reported paying more than ₦90 billion out of the ₦111 billion in inherited gratuity and other emolument liabilities, while pursuing the liquidation of the backlog. Whether one supports Governor Eno politically or not, these figures cannot honestly be wished away in a press statement.

The most responsible thing for political actors to do, therefore, is to interrogate these facts rather than manufacture convenient fiction.

We are particularly concerned about the writer’s attempt to speak in the name of a political platform that no longer has the political standing he seeks to confer upon it. The political landscape has changed, and Akwa Ibom citizens are perfectly capable of determining which political platforms are active, credible, and relevant to the present political reality. Invoking a moribund political identity while making sweeping declarations on behalf of the people of Akwa Ibom does not confer legitimacy on the argument.

Political opposition is legitimate. Criticism is legitimate. Even fierce criticism of government is legitimate in a democracy. But criticism must be anchored in facts, not bitterness; evidence, not exaggeration; and reason, not desperation.

The people of Akwa Ibom should therefore be alert to the activities of desperate political actors whose strategy appears to be the deliberate amplification of falsehood, hate, and pessimism in the hope that repetition will somehow transform fiction into fact.

Akwa Ibomites can see the roads. They can see the projects. They can see the interventions in agriculture, education, healthcare, aviation, tourism, rural development, and social welfare. They can assess the administration and form their own opinions.

They do not need political merchants to manufacture a “handwriting on the wall” for them.

And for those who are genuinely interested in the biblical account invoked by Comrade Okpo, perhaps the greater lesson is that “Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin” was not a licence for political opponents to declare another man’s downfall. It was a divine judgment backed by facts and consequences. Political propaganda cannot substitute for such judgment.

Governor Umo Eno was elected by the people of Akwa Ibom State, and he remains constitutionally entitled to govern for the duration of his mandate. The proper forum for determining the political future of the State is the ballot box, not inflammatory press statements, not manufactured prophecies, and certainly not the desperation of individuals unable to reconcile themselves with the changing political realities of Akwa Ibom.

We therefore urge the people of Akwa Ibom to reject attempts to divide them through hate-filled rhetoric and misinformation. Let the people interrogate government performance, but let them do so with facts.
The people deserve information, not manipulation.

They deserve robust opposition, not factional desperation.They deserve political debate, not political hallucinations and above all, they deserve the truth.

Akwa Ibom is moving forward. The people are watching. The records are available. And history will judge everyone, not by the volume of their propaganda, but by the substance of their contribution to the State.

God bless Akwa Ibom State.

Signed:

Chief Patrick Edeke, ANIPR
Publicity Secretary
All Progressives Congress (APC), Akwa Ibom State Chapter