You’re wrong, expect Asiwaju Tsunami in 2027 – Ikonne taunts Abaribe

Prince Paul Ikonne, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), on Tuesday dismissed Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe’s challenge to the credibility of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 presidential election, describing it as a product of political mischief.

Speaking on TVC’s popular morning show, This Morning, Ikonne, the immediate past Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), said Abaribe’s comments reflect the desperation and growing panic within opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.

“Senator Abaribe’s outburst is symptomatic of a politically desperate person who is out of tune with current realities,” Ikonne said, faulting the Abia South Senator for alleging on Monday that President Tinubu did not legitimately win in 2023 and could not secure victory again in 2027.

Ikonne maintained that Tinubu’s victory in the 2023 election was decisive, legitimate, and enjoyed broad support across regions, ethnic groups, and political interests.

He argued that Abaribe lacks the moral standing to question the President’s electoral strength, particularly in Abia State.

The APC chieftain further emphasized that the senator had become disconnected from grassroots realities and failed to recognize the evolving political dynamics in Abia State and the wider Southeast 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 wanted 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 the election, not just in one state but across the country, and his popularity has gone up more than it was in 2023 because 90 percent of the 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,” adding that, “The raw materials of politics are human beings, and those human beings are now gravitating towards President Tinubu. This is the reality in the Southeast and Nigeria as a whole. I can assure you that there will be an Asiwaju tsunami in 2027.”

He dismissed claims that Tinubu would struggle electorally in Abia, accusing Abaribe of failing to keep tabs on developments in his constituency. Ikonne argued that tangible federal projects and interventions under the Renewed Hope Agenda are already reshaping public perception of the APC in the region.

According to him, ongoing infrastructure projects, including the rehabilitation of the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway, as well as Agricultural and Social Investment Programmes, are resonating strongly with the people of the South-East.

He said such initiatives have demonstrated the Tinubu administration’s commitment to inclusive development and equitable distribution of federal presence.

Ikonne also rejected assertions that Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party state, describing such claims as excuses by politicians unwilling to accept the growing appeal of the APC. He insisted that defections from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Labour Party, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), and other platforms were driven by performance and popular support, not coercion.

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“Even the blind and the deaf can see that Nigeria is developing rapidly under President Tinubu,” he said. “That is why the APC continues to attract followership from across party lines.”

He said, “It is not about a one-party state, it is about building a strong platform, and you know that chartered politicians when they see a strong platform, they don’t waste time, they cross, and it is obvious that APC is the platform to beat.

“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.”