Akwa Ibom State Governor, Pastor Umo Eno, has described the former governor of the state and incumbent President of the Senate, Godswill Akpabio as a “great leader” who has decided to work for the betterment of the people of the state, in a “bipartisan manner.”

Eno stated this during a meeting he had with past and present members of the National Assembly across party lines, over the weekend in Uyo, the state capital.

According to him, “the Senate President, His Excellency, Distinguished Senator Godswill Akpabio CON, is also a great leader from our dear state, a former Governor, and I respect him and thank him for his pledge to work together with us, to bring development to our dear state.

“I have said it severally that I will support and work harmoniously with the President and Commander -in -Chief of the Armed Forces of Nigeria, His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ,GCFR, and I will continue to support him.

“I was elected to bring development to our state and not to fight those in constituted authority.”

Governor Eno enjoined politicians in the state to jettison partisan politics and face governance saying campaigns have since ended.

He pledged his total support and cooperation with the President of the Senate, in order to consolidate on the unity and progress of the state, saying, “no matter the party we belong to, the fact still remains that we are one Akwa Ibom State.

“We can, as we are doing tonight, come together and look at things that unite us rather than those that seperate us. Knowledge, I must emphasize, is not embedded in one party alone. We should criticize constructively and shun politics of bitterness and character assassination.

“I would like to thank you for this great gathering of unity and love. Let me specifically thank the Honourable Minister of State Petroleum (Gas) Hon Ekperikpe Ekpo, who is also a former National Assembly member, whom I had paid a courtesy visit to, in his office last week and told him Akwa Ibom has the largest deposit of gas and that we should collaborate and work to advance our collective development.

“Later this week, we will be undertaking a ground -breaking ceremony of a Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) Depot at the Liberty Oil and Gas Free Zone, in Ibeno and next month, we will do same at Ibaka Gas hub.

“Let me emphasize here that, the people that will be employed there, will not be based on party affiliations but qualified Akwaibomites. That’s the spirit I bring to governance.”