An APC chieftain in Abia, Prof. ACB Agbazuere, has promised to mobilise his Ukwa-la-Ngwa kith and kin to ensure President Bola Tinubu’s victory in the 2027 election in the state, as a reward for his sterling performance in the South-East.
Agbazuere, who was Chief of Staff to former Gov. Okezie Ikpeazu, made the promise at a meeting of APC Local Government and Ward officials in the nine Local Government Areas ,LGAs, that make up Ukwa-la-Ngwa ethnic nationality of Abia State.
The LGAs include Aba North and Aba South, Isialangwa North and Isialangwa South, Obingwa and Osisioma.
Others are Ugwunagbo, Ukwa East and Ukwa West.
The former PDP stalwart, who recently joined APC, convened the meeting in his Ikem Nvosi country home in Isialangwa South LGA on Saturday.
He said that the president had wiped away the tears of alleged maltreatment and marginalisation of the South-East by previous administrations in the country.
He listed some of the Tinubu’s landmark projects and programmes approved for the zone to include the creation of the South-East Development Commission and $3 billion fund for the construction of the Eastern Rail line.
“What President Tinubu has done for the South-East is unprecedented in the history of this country and he has ended many years of maltreatment and marginalisation of the zone.
“Here in Abia, he has given us an airport, approved the establishment of three tertiary institutions, and many federal roads, including the Aba-Port Harcourt end of the Enugu-Port Harcourt Expressway, have been completed.
“With all these laudable projects, why would the South-East not vote massively for his re-election in 2027?
“The president has shown the South-East love and we must reciprocate that love by ensuring his victory in 2027 with our votes”, Agbazuere said.
At the national level, he cited the students’ loan scheme and abolition of the oil subsidy as bold and commendable initiatives of the present APC administration.
He also commended the president for fighting to restore the Local Governments’ Financial Autonomy with the Supreme Court judgment.
He said that aside from stabilising the country’s economy as testified by the Director-General of the World Trade Organisation, Dr Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, there had been a steady improvement in the country’s GDP and foreign reserve.
Addressing newsmen on the sideline of the meeting, Agbazuere urged other presidential aspirants spoiling to challenge Tinubu in 2027 to bury their ambition until 2031.
“After 2031, they can come up let’s see what they have to offer. But for 2027, the president victory is assured”, he said.
He promised to work in synergy with other chieftains of the party, including the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Benjamin Kalu, to ensure that the pattern of voting in 2023 was reversed in Abia in Tinubu’s favour.
Other party chieftains at the meeting, including the Coordinator of Ukwa-la-Ngwa, Chief Ebere Nwachukwu, and the Chairman of the meeting, Chief Godwin Nna, also vowed to work for Tinubu’s re-election.
Nwachukwu and Nna, one-time Chairmen of Isialangwa South and Obingwa LGAs, respectively, along with Agbazuere, gave assurance that the party would stop at nothing to oust the Labour Party ,LP, led administration of Gov. Alex Otti in 2027.
In separate speeches at the meeting, they vowed to install an APC-government that would judiciously and transparently utilise allocations from the Federal Government.
They commended the president for the huge allocation to the states from the money saved from abolished oil subsidy but regretted that Abia people were not feeling the impact of the humongous allocation.
They said that the projects so far executed in the state by Otti’s government were not commensurate with the funds released to Abia since he assumed office.
They also hailed the president for obtaining Supreme Court judgment in favour of local governments’ financial autonomy, but alleged that the governors were determined to sabotage the feat.
The APC stalwarts advised the present ward executives to prepare for congresses for the election of new officials in October.
They urged the party faithful to remain steadfast and take the good message of the president’s impressive performance to all parts of their local government areas.
They also charged them to embark on new membership drive in their respective areas and ensure active participation and mobilisation of their people in the ongoing voter registration to be eligible to vote in 2027.
In their brief situation reports, the LGA party Coordinators said that APC was intact and in charge in their respective areas.
They promised to deliver victory to the party at the state and national levels in 2027.
The former Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority, Prince Paul Ikonne, represented by his Media Aide, Mr Justice Ujo, said that the party must continue to hold the governor accountable for every money released by the APC-controlled Federal Government.
Also at the meeting was the former Accountant-General of Abia, Chief Gabriel Onyendilefu, among other party bigwigs from Ukwa-la-Ngwa.
