Taiwo POPOOLA

A chieftain of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, in Enugu State, Comrade Adolphus Ude, has dismissed the reported resolution by the South-East governors to support the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027.

Ude, who was the foundation Deputy Chairman of APC in Enugu State, advised the Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum (SEGF) and Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodinma, to quickly dispel the thought of delivering the entire South-East Nigeria wholesale to President Tinubu in 2027.

He claimed that before 12 noon on the day of the presidential election, the ruling APC will lose Uzodinma’s polling unit at Ekwenja Okwu-Ozu (PU032), Omuma, Oru East LGA.

The ADC chieftain was reacting to a statement by Uzodinma that the South-East governors and leaders have agreed to support President Tinubu ahead of the 2027 general election.

Uzodimma, who stated this during a New Year courtesy visit to the private residence of the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, at Nvosi Isialangwa South LGA of Abia State, explained that their decision to support Tinubu was informed by the need to foster collaboration among the states in the South-East, to drive development across the region.

But in a press statement on Saturday, Ude, National Coordinator of ADC Like Minds, described the said resolution of the Igbo governors to support Tinubu in 2027 as inconsequential and driven by self-interest, rather than the development of the South-East.

According to him, the South-East governors were supporting President Tinubu because they are collecting state and local government resources running into billions of Naira from the federal government and sharing the money the way they like.

Ude said, “Governor Hope Uzodinma should tell the world the actual reason behind their support for Tinubu. He cannot tell us that their decision was informed by the need to foster collaboration among the states of the South-East. We are not fools.

“If he wants collaboration among South-East states, how many times has he summoned the meeting of the South-East Governors’ Forum since he became the Chairman in June 2023?

“Yet, we see him on television all the time, either bidding goodbye to Mr President whenever he travels or welcoming him back home whenever he returns. We do not know if it is part of his schedule as the Chairman of Progressive Governors.”

Speaking further, Ude noted that under Governor Uzodinma, as the Chairman of the South-East Governors Forum, Igbo governors worked against fellow Igbo governors during the governorship election, which never happened in the past.

He regretted that the South-East Governors Forum did not have a functional secretariat since November last year, when the Director-General, Senator Uche Ekwunife, contested as the Deputy Governorship candidate of APC against a sitting South-East Governor in another party, which claimed to be working together with the ruling party under the progressive family.

He lamented that at a period when governors in other regions were collaborating for the development of their regions, Igbo governors are coming together, not to tackle insecurity and other development challenges confronting their people, but to support the second term of a President, under whom Igbo marginalisation reached its peak.

He maintained that since President Tinubu assumed office on May 29, 2023, Igbos have been grossly marginalised, both in the allocation of federal infrastructure projects and appointments.

Stressing that the masses in the South-East are not naïve, Ude said the people cannot be hoodwinked by fire brigade emergency courtesy visits by some APC governors who have become apprehensive over the influx of top Igbo politicians into the ADC from the Labour Party, APC and other parties.

“In 2027, we will speak with our votes, and so loudly like we did in previous elections. Governor Uzodinma and the other South-East governors supporting Tinubu will be defeated in their polling units, because none of them influences the grassroots,” he stated.

Ude, however, urged the people of the South-east to embrace the ADC coalition, being the pan-Nigeria party, poised to rescue Nigeria from the maladministration of the ruling APC, which has brought untold hardship and hunger upon ordinary Nigerians, especially under the administration of President Bola Tinubu.

He assured that an ADC government will not only tame insecurity, end excessive taxation and stop reckless borrowing, but reflate the economy of Nigeria and embark on people-centred projects and programmes to better the lives of the populace.