POLITICS: THE ENO/AKPABIO GRANITE COALITION

By Inemesit Ina

It was Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), the Presidential Candidate of the now defunct All Nigeria Peoples' Party (ANPP) for the 2007 election, who first used the term, "Granite Coalition." 

He used it to describe the working alliance between him and his counterpart in the now defunct Action Congress (AC), then Vice President Atiku Abubakar (Atiku did not start coalition politics today). They were contesting against the standard bearer of the ruling Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP), then Governor Umaru Yar'Adua of Katsina State. Yar'Adua won the election but, by his admission, it was characterised by irregularities. Hence, his election reform initiative as President.

Borrowing Buhari's term, a Granite Coalition has been put in place in Akwa Ibom. But in sharp contrast to that of Buhari and Atiku, which fell apart before the election, the one in Akwa Ibom, midwifed by Governor Umo Eno and Senate President Godswill Akpabio, looks rock solid. 

It is an historic and all-embracing union of the two major parties in Akwa Ibom. And judging from the present state of play in the state, it has all the trappings of a vote-winning machine.

📍Akwa Ibom United

Akwa Ibom has never been politically united as it has been in the last two years. The biggest two politicians in the state, Eno and Akpabio, have pulled out all the stops to build a cordial relationship that has enabled unusual peace and unfettered development in the state. 

Things got formalised on Friday, June 6, 2025, when the Governor "progressively moved" to the All Progressives' Congress (APC) at Government House, Uyo, bringing along nearly the entire faithful of the PDP. A rally to officially welcome Eno to the APC by the party's national leadership is scheduled for Saturday, June 21, 2025 in Uyo.

The mass movement from the PDP has engendered a situation where, for the first time in the history of Akwa Ibom, almost all the who's who in the politics of the state are in one party. It is unparalleled.

If the two leaders, who are very popular in the state, sustain their relationship, the 2027 elections may be virtually, barring any miracle, a walk over for the APC as their combination may be too politically strong and fatal to the few politicians still holding out in the opposition.

📍Eno for All

From all indications, the Governor is extremely popular across Akwa Ibom. In the last two years, thanks to his all-round development of the state and indubitable politics of inclusion, his support base has swelled with most of those who voted against him in 2023 now on his side. Ahead of the 2027 elections, Eno seems to have an unassailable lead already over any would-be challenger.

It is perhaps a measure of the Governor's acceptability that less than a year to party primaries, no other governorship aspirant has emerged in any party unlike in the past.

📍Akpabio's Cult-like Followership

Akpabio enjoys a cult-like followership among his constituents, especially those of Annang extraction, in his Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District. That became crystal clear in the 2023 election which he recorded a decisive win against all odds. 

There is nothing to indicate that his popularity has waned. If anything, it appears to soar, what with his position as Nigeria's number three man, the first in the history of the 37-year-old Akwa Ibom State. His image looms large across his senatorial district and state. 

📍The Great Expectations

The generality of Akwa Ibom people actually key into the Eno/Akpabio harmony, largely with the hope that it would bring the transformational project, the Ibom Deep Seaport, and other mega federal projects. 

📍A Synergy to Cool Hot Potatoes

From reports, the integration of the PDP faithful in the APC is going on smoothly.

But as every serious politician knows, there are two political hot potatoes waiting - congresses for the election of ward, local government and state executive committees, scheduled for between August and October, this year, and primaries for the nomination of National Assembly and State Assembly candidates, likely to hold early next year.

With synergy, the two leaders can completely cool the hot potatoes. Working with other APC stakeholders, they should be able to manage diverse interests during the two exercises.

If their cordial relationship in the last two years is anything to go by, they would harmonise everything till election day.

And if they do, the opposition would certainly come to grief.

⏩ #LOCALMEDIA