A senatorial aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia South, Paul Ikonne, has revealed that a mobilisation team set up by Hope Uzodimma is already sensitising Igbos across the country to support the re-election bid of Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.

Ikonne said the massive votes Tinubu would receive in 2027 would come not only from the South-east but from all locations where Igbos reside across the country.

“So the Igbos will not make that mistake, and we will not be deceived to say let people come just for four years, to do what exactly?” he said in apparent reference to Peter Obi.

“It may take him two years to appoint ministers. Before they finish taking him around the Villa and introducing him to permanent secretaries, four years will already be over,” he added.

Speaking on the support President Tinubu enjoys among South-east governors, Ikonne pointed to the backing of Alex Otti, who was elected on the platform of the Labour Party.

“One clear indication is that when a governor who came into office through Labour Party is now supporting the President, it means the President no longer has opposition in Abia State,” he said.

According to him, governors in the South-east have seen the level of development and resources made available to states by the Tinubu administration.

He argued that Tinubu’s approach of allowing more resources to flow directly to governors had strengthened grassroots development and democratic governance.

“Development does not come only from the national level. It should come from the states and local governments, and the President has pushed resources down to governors to implement projects that impact the people,” he stated.

Ikonne further declared that Abians were prepared to vote massively for Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
Responding to the recent zoning of the presidential ticket to the South by the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Ikonne said the decision indirectly endorsed Tinubu’s continuation in office for a second term.
“What they have simply said is that Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu should complete his eight years because the North also completed eight years,” he said.

“So 2023 was wind, but in 2027, Asiwaju is coming with a tsunami. The tsunami that will hit Nigeria will start from the South-east, especially from Abia South Senatorial District.”
On his ambition to replace Enyinnaya Abaribe in the Senate, Ikonne claimed that constituents had resolved not to re-elect the senator after nearly 20 years in office.

According to him, Abaribe had no major developmental projects in the district to justify his long stay in the Senate.
“Senator Abaribe abandoning Peter Obi is a clear indication that what happened in the 2023 general election will not happen again in the South-east,” he alleged.

He also claimed that the Labour Party was weakened by internal crises in Abia State and no longer maintained a strong political structure in the state.
Ikonne added that many local government officials elected in the state were elected under the platform of the Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) rather than Labour Party.

He further criticised Abaribe’s movement across political parties, arguing that it had affected the senator’s credibility.
“Abia South is the economic engine of Abia State and even the South-east because Aba is the commercial nerve centre of the region. Yet there is nothing to show for his years in office,” he said.