Several governors elected under the aegis of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) are increasingly drifting away from the party’s expected trajectory ahead of the 2027 presidential election, thereby opening grounds for a repeat of the internal divisions that frustrated the party’s chances in the 2023 polls.
While some shy opposition governors are believed to be secretly forging quiet alliances with the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has thrown caution to the winds by openly declaring his support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s second-term bid.
Speaking during the flag-off of the Akwa Ibom–Cross River segment of the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway project, Governor Eno stated:
“Let me end by assuring our people-loving president, who will complete eight years because we are going to stand by him. He cannot start this work and abandon it. Somebody else may not finish it.”
Doubling down at a subsequent state function, Eno criticized those who, in his words, “speak from both sides of the mouth,” declaring:
“I’m supporting Baba Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term. When the time comes, I’ll tell you why… For now, no need to lie to ourselves.”
He added that while his position may be politically motivated, it does not negate his PDP membership.
“I’m entitled to my opinion,” he said, adding that Senate President Godswill Akpabio has assured him of support for a second term in 2027.
Eno is not alone in his apparent political realignment. In Delta State, Governor Sheriff Oborevwori—successor to Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 running mate, Ifeanyi Okowa—has also shown signs of gravitating towards the APC.
At a recent event tagged the “Uzere Declaration for Tinubu and Oborevwori,” Oborevwori’s Chief of Staff, Prince Johnson Erijo, called on the Isoko people to support both Tinubu and the governor, pledging 70,000 votes for them in 2027.
Oborevwori’s attendance at a separate event alongside First Lady Oluremi Tinubu, where traditional rulers in Delta pledged support for Tinubu’s re-election, has further fueled defection rumours.
Meanwhile, in Osun State, Governor Ademola Adeleke has not openly declared support for Tinubu. However, campaign billboards featuring Tinubu and Adeleke in Iwo Local Government Area have stirred political tension.
The APC accused the PDP of leveraging Tinubu’s image to boost Adeleke’s appeal, an allegation Adeleke’s camp denied but did not refute entirely.
Adeleke had earlier praised President Tinubu for “upholding the rule of law” following the 2025 local government elections in Osun, describing him as a “true democrat.”
Governors Caleb Mutfwang (Plateau), Abba Kabir Yusuf (Kano), Douye Diri (Bayelsa), and suspended Rivers State Governor Siminalayi Fubara have also commended President Tinubu, particularly for his perceived non-interference in judicial proceedings.
Observers say the ongoing defiance within the PDP echoes the behavior of the G-5 governors in 2023, led by then-Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike.
The group—which also included Seyi Makinde (Oyo), Samuel Ortom (Benue), Okezie Ikpeazu (Abia), and Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi (Enugu)—openly opposed Atiku Abubakar’s candidacy and none faced disciplinary consequences.
In fact, APC won three of the five G-5 states in the 2023 presidential election. Today, Wike remains a key political figure and is currently serving as Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
He has repeatedly expressed support for Tinubu and praised fellow PDP governors who back the president.
Wike, like others, insists that support for Tinubu does not equate to APC membership, citing “national interest.”
