A distinguished chieftain of the All Progressives Congress APC in Abia State, Paul Ikonne, has downplayed the electoral relevance of erstwhile Labour Occasion LP Presidential candidate, Peter Obi within the South East, declared that something wanting near-total electoral assist for President Bola Tinubu from the zone within the 2027 common election would fall beneath expectations.
He insisted that even 90 per cent of the area’s votes “is not going to be a great consequence.”
Ikonne, the speedy previous Govt Secretary and Chief Govt Officer of the Nationwide Agricultural Land Growth Authority NALDA, stated political realignments throughout the South East had successfully turned the area into an rising stronghold for President Tinubu and the APC.
Talking on Tuesday night time throughout an interview on a tv programme, he dismissed the Labour Occasion as a fading power and argued that the political affect of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had considerably waned.
Reacting to the current endorsement of President Tinubu by South East leaders in Enugu, Ikonne stated the size of political motion into the APC made a 90 per cent displaying insufficient.
“I feel now we have gone past seventy per cent. Some faculties of thought imagine that with the quantity and calibre of individuals now we have in APC immediately within the South-East, 90 per cent is not going to be a great consequence for us, contemplating the strikes, the decamping and the harvest of those that we’re getting,” he stated.
He defined that the technique to mobilize assist for Tinubu’s re-election was not restricted to voters residing throughout the South-East.
In keeping with him, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, is spearheading a coordinated outreach to Igbo communities throughout the nation.
“What Governor Hope Uzodinma is doing will not be just for Southeasterners residing within the South-East. He has arrange a crew, which I’m a part of, going spherical all of the states in Nigeria the place Igbos reside, to interact and sensitise them on the necessity to key into the 2027 re-election bid of Mr President”, Ikonne stated.
Utilizing Abia State for instance, Ikonne stated the Peoples Democratic Occasion PDP had been largely emptied into the APC, strengthening the ruling occasion’s electoral base.
“PDP has nearly emptied into APC in Abia State. What does that let you know? It tells you that the votes which have been misplaced earlier than are actually returning as a result of those that have been in PDP are actually a part of APC,” he stated.
On the political standing of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, Ikonne was blunt, describing him as politically remoted and ineffective.
“Our governor is minus one. Governor Alex Otti is minus one within the sense that he doesn’t actually have a occasion. As of immediately, he’s a member of the Labour Occasion, however he carried out native authorities elections with ZLP. He has deserted Peter Obi”, he declared.
Ikonne argued that Otti’s refusal to comply with Obi into the African Democratic Congress ADC was a transparent signal that the previous Anambra governor’s political fortunes have been declining.
“He began with Peter Obi and he isn’t ending up with Peter Obi. Why is he afraid? Why is his curiosity hinting in direction of APC? As a result of he has seen that Abians have shifted and Southeasterners have shifted to assist President Tinubu,” he stated.
In keeping with Ikonne, the South East has learnt arduous political classes and is now not prepared to isolate itself from the centre of energy.
“Now no Southeasterner needs this area to remain out of the centre,” he stated. “We can’t hold isolating ourselves. We want energy. We’re merchants, businessmen and girls, and aligning with the centre helps our companies. We’re throughout Nigeria and can’t be seen to be towards the federal government on the centre”, stated Ikonne.
He maintained that the rising endorsement of President Tinubu by serving governors, former governors, ex–Senate Presidents, ministers and different political heavyweights marked a strategic return of the South East to the center of nationwide politics, inevitably weakening Obi’s affect forward of 2027.
“Politics is about numbers and construction. When leaders who command followership align, the votes comply with. This endorsement is a transparent assertion that the South-East has correctly realigned with the centre to make sure that its votes depend”, Ikonne stated.
Ikonne additional downplayed Obi’s probabilities of mounting a critical problem, citing inside disarray throughout the ADC and the absence of robust occasion buildings.
He additionally dismissed claims that the APC lacks credibility within the area, insisting that the ruling occasion has develop into the primary vacation spot for defectors.
“The Igbos are usually not fools and no Igbo man needs to make one mistake two instances,” he stated.
He additionally brushed apart current criticisms of President Tinubu by the Senator representing Abia South, Eyinnaya Abaribe, arguing that the lawmaker had misplaced political relevance.
In keeping with Ikonne, Abaribe “is aware of he can’t be re-elected within the coming election,” including that the political tide within the South-East had decisively turned in favour of President Tinubu and the APC forward of 2027.