Abaribe Won’t Return to the Senate in 2027, Says Ikonne

An All Progressives Congress (APC) leader and former executive secretary of the National Agricultural Land Development Authority (NALDA), Prince Paul Ikonne, explained why Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, who represents Abia South Senatorial District, is unlikely to return to the Senate in 2027.

Ikonne made the comments in a statement released on Thursday.

According to him, voters in Abia State have decided that Abaribe should not be re‑elected in 2027, citing his nearly twenty years in the Senate without any visible developmental projects in the district.

“Senator Abaribe is already coming back home. This is 20 years in the Senate, and there is nothing to show for it. There is nowhere you will go and see any constituency project in the entire Abia South,” he said.

“It is interesting to note that Abia South is the engine hub of Abia State and, by extension, the Southeast because Aba is the commercial nerve centre for the Southeast. Abia South is also the oil‑producing zone for Abia State. Yet there is nothing to show for it. So he is already coming back home. People are preparing to welcome him back home, and some group of people are pushing for him to be given a traditional title to take over one community in his local government,” he added.

Ikonne, who recently announced his intention to run for a senatorial seat in Abia State, also stated that a full eight‑year presidency will come to the southeast after President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re‑election in 2027.