•Eno and Tinubu
The good news came on the wings of Christmas. Akwa Ibom Governor, Pastor Umo Eno and his 7.2 million people, were thrown into instant jubilation, December 17, 2024, as one of Nigeria’s leading newspapers, LEADERSHIP, announced the dynamic Akwa Ibom Governor as Nigeria’s Governor of the Year 2024.
Like the Biblical season of harvest when God crowned the year with goodness and the pathways with fatness, the news broke out in the middle of the Three-day Executive Council Briefing/End of Year Performance Review of the Umo Eno Administration, where the governor had gathered thousands of stakeholders from all walks of life to openly review and evaluate his 2024 performance and chart the path for 2025 and beyond.
As the news filtered out initially in whispers and the Master of Ceremony eventually interrupted proceedings to announce the breaking news, the crowd that jam-packed the Banquet Hall of the Government House erupted with jubilation and a flood of congratulatory messages to the winning governor.
In its press statement announcing Pastor Eno as Governor of the Year 2024, the management of LEADERSHIP Group Limited, publishers of LEADERSHIP Newspapers, said Governor Eno “has brought pragmatic and imaginative leadership that reverberates with success within a short time”.
The Abuja-based, 20-year old respected newspaper, which named Aliko Dangote as the Person Of The Year, also praised Governor Eno for his inclusive drive to bring succour to the state, pushing his political and managerial proficiency to the forefront in all sectors, through his bold socio-economic blueprint known as ARISE Agenda.
“From the pulpit to the most important political office in the state, the ‘Golden Boy’ as the governor is fondly called, became an instant discovery in leadership ingenuity after the impressive tutoring by his political mentor, Mr. Udom Emmanuel, into mainstream politics, first as the Commissioner for Lands”.
The rest of the statement by the management of LEADERSHIP Newspapers read in part as follows:
“From a humble beginning, Governor Eno made a breakthrough after surmounting immense obstacles to become a leading investor in the hospitality business in his state. He has contributed immensely to job creation and value addition.
“Under his Administration’s Agriculture, Rural Development, Infrastructure, Security and Empowerment (under ARISE Agenda), food security, social empowerment, job creation and effective security management have continued to make the state a haven for tourists, visitors and investors, boosting the Internally Generated Revenues (IGR) of the oil-rich Niger Delta State.
“His tact, diplomacy, and strategic initiatives, with visible performance that can be seen and measured, have endeared him to Akwa Ibom people and the cental government despite the state being run by an opposition party. President Bola Tinubu and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), President of the Senate Godswill Akpabio, and others across Nigeria have also shown admiration for the governor because of his inclusive politics”.
These are simply the facts about this governor. And if the indicators on the ground are anything to go by, Nigerians have not seen or heard the last yet about this rare leader.
For Akwa Ibom people, the outstanding performance and accomplishments of Governor Eno in such a short time is not entirely a big surprise. Rather, it is a prophecy fulfilled.
On October 17, 2022, during the inauguration of the PDP Governorship Campaign Council in Uyo, Governor Udom Emmanuel foresaw it all. He told Akwa Ibom people point blank on that historic occasion that Pastor Umo Eno, will be by far better than him as governor.
To quote his prophecy verbatim, then Governor Emmanuel said: “The man [ Umo Eno] that is coming after me is 100 times better than me”.
And it came to pass.
