2027: South-East now APC stronghold – Ikonne tackles Senator Abaribe

A chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, and former Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, NALDA, Prince Paul Ikonne, has criticised the senator representing Abia South Senatorial District, Enyinnaya Abaribe, over his recent comments questioning the credibility of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, describing the remarks as politically desperate and out of tune with current realities.

Ikonne made his position known on Tuesday while featuring on TVC’s popular morning programme This Morning, where he argued that Abaribe’s comments were symptomatic of what he described as growing panic within opposition political parties as preparations begin for the 2027 general elections.

Senator Abaribe had on Monday claimed that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu did not win the 2023 election and that he could not win again in 2027.

Responding to the claims, Ikonne said Abaribe’s sustained criticism of President Tinubu’s mandate was driven by fear of the ruling party’s expanding influence across the country.

He maintained that President Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 poll was decisive and legitimate, stressing that the President enjoyed widespread support cutting across regions, ethnic groups and political interests.

Ikonne said attempts to cast doubt on the outcome of the election were not only revisionist but also ignored a verdict already affirmed by the nation’s electoral and judicial processes.

The APC chieftain further contended that Senator Abaribe lacked the moral standing to question Tinubu’s electoral strength, particularly in Abia State, alleging that the senator had become disconnected from grassroots realities.

He claimed that Abaribe no longer maintained active engagement with his constituents and therefore failed to appreciate the shifting political dynamics in the state and the wider South-East region.

He said: “If you know Senator Abaribe very well, you will realize that he is an attention seeker. He is always seeking attention. This is a man who did not win his own election in 2023. One young man defeated him during the election, and anybody who wants to know the details should get what the young man filed at the Tribunal against Senator Abaribe.

“What Abaribe displayed showed clearly that the opposition, if any, are panicking. The President won election, not just in one state but across the country and his popularity has gone up more than what it was in 2023 because 90 per cent of PDP in the entire South-east have collapsed into the APC.”

“As we speak, about 90 per cent of the PDP structure in the South-East has collapsed into the APC,” Ikonne said. “The raw materials of politics are human beings, and those human beings are now gravitating towards President Tinubu. This is the reality in the South-East and Nigeria as a whole. I can assure you that there will be an Asiwaju tsunami in 2027.”

“Like in the South East now, the region is now the stronghold of APC if you look at it very well. So the door is still open for those who have seen the light to join us and for those who have not seen anything we wish them well.”