By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress APC in Abia State, Prince Paul Ikonne, has downplayed the electoral relevance of erstwhile Labour Party LP Presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi in the South East, declared that anything short of near-total electoral support for President Bola Tinubu from the zone in the 2027 general election would fall below expectations.
He insisted that even 90 per cent of the region’s votes “will not be a good result.”
Ikonne, the immediate past Executive Secretary and Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority NALDA, said political realignments across the South East had effectively turned the region into an emerging stronghold for President Tinubu and the APC.
Speaking on Tuesday night during an interview on TVC’s Politics Tonight, he dismissed the Labour Party as a fading force and argued that the political influence of its 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, had significantly waned.
Reacting to the recent endorsement of President Tinubu by South East leaders in Enugu, Ikonne said the scale of political movement into the APC made a 90 per cent showing inadequate.
“I think we have gone beyond seventy per cent. Some schools of thought believe that with the number and calibre of people we have in APC today in the South-East, 90 per cent will not be a good result for us, considering the moves, the decamping and the harvest of people that we are getting,” he said.
He explained that the strategy to mobilize support for Tinubu’s re-election was not limited to voters residing within the South-East.
According to him, Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, is spearheading a coordinated outreach to Igbo communities across the country.
“What Governor Hope Uzodinma is doing is not only for Southeasterners residing in the South-East. He has set up a team, which I am part of, going round all the states in Nigeria where Igbos reside, to engage and sensitise them on the need to key into the 2027 re-election bid of Mr President”, Ikonne said.
Using Abia State as an example, Ikonne said the Peoples Democratic Party PDP had been largely emptied into the APC, strengthening the ruling party’s electoral base.
“PDP has almost emptied into APC in Abia State. What does that tell you? It tells you that the votes which were lost before are now returning because those who were in PDP are now part of APC,” he said.
On the political standing of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, Ikonne was blunt, describing him as politically isolated and ineffective.
“Our governor is minus one. Governor Alex Otti is minus one in the sense that he doesn’t even have a party. As of today, he is a member of the Labour Party, but he conducted local government elections with ZLP. He has abandoned Peter Obi”, he declared.
Ikonne argued that Otti’s refusal to follow Obi into the African Democratic Congress ADC was a clear sign that the former Anambra governor’s political fortunes were declining.
“He started with Peter Obi and he is not ending up with Peter Obi. Why is he afraid? Why is his interest hinting towards APC? Because he has seen that Abians have shifted and Southeasterners have shifted to support President Tinubu,” he said.
According to Ikonne, the South East has learnt hard political lessons and is no longer willing to isolate itself from the centre of power.
“Now no Southeasterner wants this region to stay out of the centre,” he said. “We cannot keep isolating ourselves. We need power. We are traders, businessmen and women, and aligning with the centre helps our businesses. We are all over Nigeria and cannot be seen to be against the government at the centre”, said Ikonne.
He maintained that the growing endorsement of President Tinubu by serving governors, former governors, ex–Senate Presidents, ministers and other political heavyweights marked a strategic return of the South East to the heart of national politics, inevitably weakening Obi’s influence ahead of 2027.
“Politics is about numbers and structure. When leaders who command followership align, the votes follow. This endorsement is a clear statement that the South-East has properly realigned with the centre to ensure that its votes count”, Ikonne said.
Ikonne further downplayed Obi’s chances of mounting a serious challenge, citing internal disarray within the ADC and the absence of strong party structures.
He also dismissed claims that the APC lacks credibility in the region, insisting that the ruling party has become the main destination for defectors.
“The Igbos are not fools and no Igbo man wants to make one mistake two times,” he said.
He also brushed aside recent criticisms of President Tinubu by the Senator representing Abia South, Eyinnaya Abaribe, arguing that the lawmaker had lost political relevance.
According to Ikonne, Abaribe “knows he cannot be re-elected in the coming election,” adding that the political tide in the South-East had decisively turned in favour of President Tinubu and the APC ahead of 2027.
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