Governor Umo Eno of Akwa Ibom State has warned politicians against allowing electoral ambition to plunge the state into violence, declaring that “no political ambition is worth the life of a single Akwa Ibom person.”
Eno gave the warning on Tuesday in a message delivered by Deputy Governor Senator Akon Eyakenyi at the opening of a two-day statewide seminar on violence-free elections organised by the Nigeria Police Force, Department of State Services (DSS) and the Akwa Ibom State Government.
The seminar, holding from September 15 to 16, is themed “Promoting Peaceful, Free, Fair and Credible Elections in Akwa Ibom State,” and brings together security agencies and other stakeholders to strengthen preparations for peaceful electoral contests.
The governor said, “Democracy must never be reduced to a contest in which victory is pursued at the expense of peace, human life, unity, and the future of our people,” stressing that elections should be “contests of ideas” through which citizens freely choose their leaders.
He warned that elections “must never become occasions of violence, intimidation, destruction, hate, blackmail, or bloodshed,” adding: “No elective position is worth destroying the peace we have worked hard to maintain in this state.”
According to Eno, political differences must not be allowed to destroy the relationships that bind residents together, because opponents would remain neighbours and citizens of the same state after elections.
“Political parties must understand that their opponents are not enemies. The fact that we belong to different political parties does not make us less Akwa Ibom people,” he said.
The governor also issued a strong warning against the use of youths as instruments of electoral violence, saying they should not allow politicians to exploit their vulnerability for short-term political gains.
“Our young people must never again be recruited, armed, manipulated, and abandoned after elections,” Eno said, adding that the youths “deserve opportunities, education, skills, jobs, and future, not political violence.”
He urged young people to reject anyone attempting to recruit them as political thugs, stressing: “Your future is greater than any amount of money offered to you to attack another person, destroy property, or disrupt an election.”
Eno charged security agencies to ensure that election security was intelligence-led, coordinated and people-centred, while urging the Police, DSS, Armed Forces and other agencies to strengthen inter-agency collaboration.
He also warned political actors against inflammatory rhetoric, calling on aspirants and candidates to demonstrate leadership through their language and the conduct they encourage among supporters.
“We must refrain from inciting the people through divisive and violent rhetoric,” he said, while urging the media, bloggers and social media users to verify information before publishing or sharing it.
The governor further declared that government would protect citizens’ constitutional rights to political participation and peaceful assembly but would not tolerate violence committed under the cover of politics.
“Anyone who commits violence, destroys property, attacks opponents, intimidates voters, or breaches the law should expect to face the consequences of his or her actions in accordance with the law. There must be no sacred cows,” he warned.
Eno urged the seminar participants to produce practical recommendations and strengthen cooperation among institutions, insisting that the ultimate objective should be to preserve the state beyond individual political ambitions.
“Political contest will come and go, but Akwa Ibom State will remain,” he said. “Elections must not divide us. Politics must not destroy our brotherhood. Ballots, not bullets, must determine leadership. Ideas, not intimidation, must win the support of the people. And peace must remain the ultimate victory for Akwa Ibom State.”
