Nigeria, Dec. 17 -- In May, a few days before Umo Eno's defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC) in June, the Akwa Ibom governor summoned his cabinet members and top politicians in the state to a crucial meeting at the Government House in Uyo.

Mr Eno, at the time, was under pressure from many who persuaded him not to abandon the PDP, which gave him the ticket to contest and become the fifth elected governor of the oil-rich state. Until Mr Eno's defection, the PDP had been in power in Akwa Ibom for over two decades since the return of democratic rule in 1999.

Ekerete Udoh, Mr Eno's spokesperson, had invited reporters at the Government House Uyo Press Corps to cover the governor's meeting wi...