A prominent chieftain of the All Progressives Congress in Abia state chapter and Senatorial aspirant for Abia South, Prince Paul Ikonne, has asked the Senator representing the district,
Enyinnaya Abaribe, to prepare to leave the red chamber.
Abaribe has spent nearly two decades in the Senate representing Abia South, a development Prince Ikonne said has yielded no meaningful development for the district.
Speaking with newsmen on Wednesday morning after picking his nomination and expression of interest forms, Ikonne vowed to give effective representation for Abia South beginning from 2027 if given opportunity, urging Senator Abaribe to prepare to vacate the seat.
Ikonne, who is the immediate-past Executive Secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA) under former President Muhammadu Buhari, said 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.
Prince Ikonne reaffirmed that his senatorial ambition is driven by service, development and a determination to restore purposeful representation to the people of Abia South.
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When asked about his chances of winning the election, Ikonne, in a direct political challenge to the incumbent Senator Abaribe, 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, arguing that his long stay in the Red Chambers has yielded no meaningful development for the district.
He said: “If you are familiar with Senator Abaribe very well, you will realize 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 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,” Ikonne stated.
He said his aspiration is focused on moving representation beyond rhetoric to results through infrastructure, empowerment, strategic interventions and stronger national relevance for Abia South.
Prince Ikonne further expressed confidence in the role of the 11th Senate as a consolidating Senate that will leverage on the reforms and political gains of President Bola Ahmed 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.