Follow Us on Google
From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Abia State chapter, Prince Paul Ikonne, has picked the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms to contest the Abia South seat, issuing a quit notice to the incumbent senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe.
Challenging Abaribe to start arranging his loads at the upper chambers after picking his nomination forms to contest the senate seat, Ikonne promised to give effective representation if given the opportunity.
Speaking to newsmen after obtaining his nomination forms, he urged Senator Abaribe to prepare to vacate the seat after spending nearly two decades in the upper chambers of the National Assembly.
The immediate-past Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) under former President Muhammadu Buhari, emphasised that his decision to join the race was borne out of the urgent need to provide effective and quality representation for Abia South, which he noted has suffered years of under-performance at the National Assembly.
He reaffirmed that his senatorial ambition was driven by service, development and a determination to restore purposeful representation to the people of Abia South.
Asked about his chances of winning the election in a direct political challenge to the incumbent Senator Abaribe, he declared that after nearly two decades in the Senate, it was time for Abaribe to return to Ohuru village and join his kinsmen in settling village land disputes.
Other News
Ikonne further argued that Abaribe’s long stay in the Red Chambers has yielded no meaningful development for the district.
“If you are familiar with Senator Abaribe, you will realise that he is an attention seeker and a media creation. He has long lost touch with the grassroots and our people are saying enough of his noise-making, it is time for him to return to the village.
“Currently, Abia South does not look like a district with his representation in the Senate. That is why I have stepped forward, to offer real representation, align our people with the Federal Government and attract the federal presence and development our district deserves,” he stated.
He said his aspiration was focused on moving representation beyond rhetoric to results through infrastructure, empowerment, strategic interventions and stronger national relevance for Abia South.
He further expressed confidence in the role of the 11th Senate as a consolidating Senate that would leverage on the reforms and political gains of President Bola Tinubu to move Nigeria in a positive direction.
He called on Nigerians, irrespective of political, ethnic or religious differences, to support President Tinubu’s reform agenda, describing the President as committed to laying the foundation for long-term national transformation and prosperity.
With the purchase of his nomination forms, the contest for Abia South Senate has clearly entered a defining phase.
