A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Paul Ikonne, has said Governor Alex Otti is no longer a factor in the 2027 election because he has no political party to run on.
Naijaonpoint reports that Ikonne made this known during an interview on TVC’s ‘Politics Tonight’ programme on Tuesday.
Ikonne downplayed Otti’s influence in Southeast, stressing that the Governor has abandoned the Labour Party (LP) 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, following his defection.
According to him, Otti refused to follow Peter Obi to the African Democratic Congress (ADC) because he knew the former Governor of Anambra State would not go far in his presidential ambition.
Ikonne added that the entire South-East region has resolved to back President Bola Tinubu in 2027.
He said, “I think we have gone beyond seventy percent. Some schools of thought believe that with the number of people and the caliber of people we have in APC today in the Southeast, 90 percent will not be a good result for us considering the moves, the decamping, and the harvest of people that we are getting.
“Let me give you a clearer picture so you can understand what it means for the entire South. What Governor Hope Uzodinma is doing is not only for the southeasterners residing in the South-East. No, he has set up a team, which I am part of now, going around all the states in Nigeria where the Igbos reside for us to begin to engage them and sensitize them so they understand the need to key into the 2027 re-election bid of Mr. President.
“Our Governor is minus one. This Governor Alex Otti is minus one in the sense that he doesn’t even have a party. As of today, he’s a member of the Labor Party, but he conducted local government elections with ZLP.
“He has abandoned Peter Obi. So what does that tell you? He started with Peter Obi, and he’s not ending up with Peter Obi. Why is he afraid? Why is his interest hinting towards APC? Because you have seen that people have shifted, Abians have shifted, and southeasterners have shifted to support President Tinubu.
“Now no southeasterner will want to stay out or will want this region to stay out of the center. We cannot keep isolating ourselves. No, southeasterners are no longer willing and ready to isolate themselves from governance because we need power, and we are traders; we are businessmen and women.
“If the only governor elected on his platform has effectively abandoned him, what does that tell you?”