Akwa Ibom LP Candidate Michael Bush Names Udofa Assam as Campaign Spokesperson
Michael Bush, who is flying the Labour Party flag in the Akwa Ibom State governorship race, has chosen Udofa Assam to speak for his campaign.
The appointment was made public on Sunday through a Facebook Live broadcast.
Mr Assam works as an estate surveyor and valuer and comes from Eket Local Government Area.
His elder sibling, Assam Assam, is a former Nigerian ambassador to Russia who maintains a close working relationship with Governor Umo Eno.
The elder Assam, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, once directed the governor's 2023 election effort and is still introduced at official state gatherings as the "Director-General of Government Business."
With this choice, Mr Bush has placed his campaign's public voice inside a family that has a direct link to the governor's 2023 campaign, a campaign in which Mr Bush himself played a notable supporting role.
Describing his new assignment, Mr Assam said it represents a task that calls for new thinking for the state.
"It is a challenge that has to be overcome because the state has to move from where we are, and we need fresh hands to move the state forward," he said.
"There has been a lot of recycling; people who have no new ideas have been sitting tight and not bringing any new ideas. It is a challenge that I have to work out for the good of the campaign coalition."
The arrangement throws up an uncommon situation, since the spokesperson's brother aligns with Mr Eno while he himself will front a campaign seeking to unseat the governor.
Mr Assam rejected the suggestion that this amounts to a conflict of interest.
"No. My brother is serving the state, and I am also coming up to serve the state. We are all serving the state together but on different platforms. It would not bring any clash," he said.
He pointed to how Senate President Godswill Akpabio and his nephew, Prince Akpabio, have operated politically as proof that relatives can belong to rival camps.
When Mr Akpabio exited the PDP for the APC in 2018, his nephew opted not to follow him. Prince went on to win a seat in the Akwa Ibom State House of Assembly in 2023 under the PDP, at the same time his uncle entered the Senate on the APC ticket. Prince has since switched to the APC, moving alongside Governor Eno, and obtained the party's ticket to serve another term in the state Assembly.
According to Mr Assam, this shows that family members holding different political allegiances need not be seen as being in conflict.
The LP candidate's own political path shifted over time. He was once a PDP member and ranked among those who worked openly for Mr Eno's 2023 governorship bid. He led a ward leaders' support group for the then-PDP candidate and put Mr Eno on air repeatedly through radio and television programmes churned out by Bush House, his media outfit.
That relationship soured, especially once Mr Eno crossed from the PDP to the APC in 2025.
In November 2025, Mr Bush publicly accused the governor of "deceit" regarding the "Akwa Ibom United" slogan he had adopted after switching parties. He called for an apology and framed the 2027 contest as a choice between "honesty or deception."
He later exited the PDP for the LP, where he clinched the governorship primary in May.
On what his principal offers voters, Mr Assam said Mr Bush presents himself as a vehicle for change.
"Mr Bush is offering himself as an instrument of change and that it is left for the people to say yes, 'We've seen that you can do it for us,'" he said.
Mr Bush has said previously that his government would prioritise inclusion, justice and good governance. He has also rolled out proposals covering low-cost housing, assistance for fishers and other measures as part of his campaign platform.
The spokesperson's unveiling comes as parties and their candidates step up activity ahead of the 2027 governorship poll in Akwa Ibom.
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