Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Imo State Governor and Chairman of the Progressive Governors’ Forum, Hope Uzodimma, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will take over Abia State in the 2027 general elections, alongside securing a second term for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Uzodimma made the declaration on Friday in Umuahia during the inauguration of the Abia State chapter of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, a pro-Tinubu political movement.
He spoke through the Minister of State for Labour and Productivity, Mrs Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.
The Imo governor, who also serves as the National Chairman of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors, said President Tinubu has distinguished himself through bold governance reforms and therefore deserves a renewed mandate to consolidate his transformative agenda.
According to Uzodimma, the Renewed Hope Agenda is not a mere campaign slogan but a solemn commitment to restore confidence and prosperity to Nigerians after years of economic stagnation.
“This inauguration marks our collective resolve to ensure that President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda reaches every household and every community across Nigeria,” he said.
“When the President unveiled this agenda, it was not campaign rhetoric; it was a sacred promise to restore hope to millions of Nigerians.”
Speaking on behalf of the governor, Onyejeocha said her experience as a serving minister had given her first-hand insight into the Tinubu administration’s commitment to delivering tangible results.
“I have seen how this government is protecting workers’ rights, promoting fair wages, strengthening workplace safety, and expanding employment opportunities across critical sectors of the economy,” she stated.
She urged the newly inaugurated coordinators to take ownership of the agenda at the grassroots, stressing that national policies only achieve impact when effectively driven at the community level.
“You are being commissioned today as ambassadors of hope, agents of transformation, and the vital bridge between government and the people,” she charged.
Earlier, the Abia State Coordinator of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors and former Minister of Science and Technology, Chief Henry Ikoh, said the group’s central mission was to ensure the re-election of President Tinubu and all APC candidates in Abia State and across the South-East in 2027.
“We have a clear mandate to re-elect President Tinubu—not only in Abia but across the entire South-East,” Ikoh declared.
He said the President had demonstrated leadership capacity through economic recovery initiatives and infrastructural transformation.
“Nigeria is moving from consumption to production. The naira has stabilised, states now receive more funds, and it is only right that we reciprocate by renewing his mandate in 2027,” he said.
Ikoh, who is among the leading aspirants for the APC governorship ticket in Abia, described the task of delivering the state to the APC as non-negotiable, urging members to intensify grassroots mobilisation.
Former Senator representing Abia Central, Senator Nkechi Nwogu, said the growing defection of politicians from other parties into the APC was a clear indicator of the party’s rising fortunes in the state.
Recalling the APC’s poor outing in Abia during the 2023 elections, she said the current momentum suggested a major turnaround ahead of 2027.
“There is now a massive influx into the APC. We have become a big family, and that means we will win from top to bottom,” she said.
Nwogu added that Abia must return to mainstream national politics and be represented by experienced legislators rather than political novices.
Speaking also, former Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Prince Paul Ikonne, said the APC remained the party to beat in Abia, insisting that other parties lacked the structure to challenge it.
“The PDP is completely dead, the ruling LP is weak, and the ADC is not yet a party. APC will take over Abia in 2027,” Ikonne boasted.
He accused the Alex Otti-led administration of running an expensive government and argued that Abia would perform better under APC leadership.
In separate remarks, former Speaker of the Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Christopher Enweremadu; APC chieftain, Ambassador E. O. Philips; and former APC State Publicity Secretary, Dr Ben Godson, reaffirmed the party’s resolve to capture Abia in 2027.
They said Abia stood to gain more by aligning with the ruling party at the centre.
“APC will take over Abia in 2027. Most PDP stalwarts and all strong politicians in the state are now in APC,” Philips said, while Enweremadu vowed that the APC flag would soon fly at Abia Government House.
The highlight of the event was the unveiling of the Renewed Hope Ambassadors’ Abia State Secretariat along Winners’ Road, Umuahia, by Onyejeocha on behalf of Governor Uzodinma.
Many APC chieftains in Abia and party loyalists attended the inauguration.
