By the time Pastor Umo Eno clasped hands with the All Progressives Congress (APC) on that fateful Friday, he had already done the math. The kind that has little to do with conviction, and everything to do with calculus. Political calculus.

Two years after inheriting the throne of Akwa Ibom from Udom Emmanuel—his political godfather turned bitter accuser—Governor Eno performed a full-blown pentecostal pivot. From the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) pulpit that birthed his rise, he vaulted into the APC chapel, robes flying, flanked by converts both reluctant and enthusiastic.

The betrayal, Emmanuel declared, was total. “Desperate,” he called his successor. And the drama? Delicious. For a man who handpicked Eno—passing over loyal stalwarts—the sense of apostasy stings. But politics in Nigeria is rarely about loyalty; it’s about alignment. And for Eno, alignment meant proximity to the federal centre, and, perhaps, the elusive deep-sea port Akwa Ibom has prayed for since its founding.

To his credit, the governor didn’t jump alone. Thirty-one local government chairmen, nearly every commissioner, and most of the legislature clapped along. A political exodus so sweeping it left the PDP looking like a choir mid-song with half the sopranos gone.

Still, not everyone sang the new tune. Commissioner Ini Ememobong, seasoned in survival and old grudges, politely declined. His refusal had less to do with principle than the spectre of serving under Godswill Akpabio—his old foe, now APC kingpin. That kind of political déjà vu could curdle anyone’s ambition.

Yet this isn’t just a story of betrayal and bandwagons. It’s also one of recalibration. With the Senate President holding court in Abuja, and Eno now on Team Tinubu, the state’s political fortunes are shifting fast. For once, the question isn’t who defected—but what Akwa Ibom hopes to gain. Unity? Development? Or just a front-row seat in a new, evolving gospel of power?

One thing is clear: In 2027, this hymn sheet will matter.