BY JULIET EKWENUGO
Kaduna
An Abia State chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Prince Paul Ikonne, has stated that Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe did not win his 2023 election, insisting the lawmaker lacks the moral standing to question President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s victory.
Ikonne, a former Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), made the remarks on Tuesday during an interview on TVC’s This Morning.
He was responding to Abaribe’s claim on Monday that President Tinubu neither won the 2023 presidential election nor stands a chance in 2027.
Describing Abaribe’s comments as politically desperate, Ikonne said they reflected growing panic within opposition parties ahead of the 2027 general elections.
He added that President Tinubu’s 2023 victory was decisive, legitimate, and affirmed by both the electoral and judicial processes.
“If you know Senator Abaribe very well, you will realise that he is an attention seeker. This is a man who did not win his own election in 2023″.
The APC chieftain further alleged that Abaribe had become disconnected from grassroots realities, noting the senator’s limited engagement with constituents.
He maintained that ongoing federal projects under the Renewed Hope Agenda, including the rehabilitation of the Enugu–Port Harcourt Expressway and agricultural and social investment programmes, have strengthened the APC’s presence and appeal in the South-East.
Ikonne also dismissed claims that Nigeria is drifting towards a one-party state, saying defections from rival parties were driven by performance and popular support rather than coercion.
“Even the blind and the deaf can see that Nigeria is developing rapidly under President Tinubu. The South-East is increasingly becoming an APC stronghold”
