UMUAHIA — As the race toward the 2027 general elections intensifies, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, former Abia State Chairman of Atiku Abubakar’s 2023 presidential campaign council, has called on all three geopolitical zones in Southern Nigeria to unite behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to secure his re-election and complete the South’s turn in power.
Ogbonnaya, a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs in Abia State, stressed that equity demands the South be allowed to serve its full eight years, just as the North did under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari.
“The North did eight years under Buhari. It is only fair that the South, under Tinubu, does eight years too. This is not about Tinubu or tribalism — it is about justice, fairness, and the rotation of the presidency,” Ogbonnaya said in a statement released in Umuahia.
He particularly urged the South East and South South to collaborate with the South West to ensure Tinubu’s second-term victory, warning that disunity has historically weakened the region’s political bargaining power.
“I had once raised the alarm that some of us in the South are allowing ourselves to be manipulated to work against our own interest. It is time we see through this and form a common front,” he stated.
The APC chieftain also criticized emerging political coalitions as serving Northern interests, questioning why such alliances were not championed when the North held power for eight years.
Ogbonnaya further commended Tinubu’s administration for reforms such as the student loan scheme, higher revenue allocations to states, and policies in the foreign exchange market, arguing that these achievements strengthen the president’s case for re-election.
He cautioned Southerners against internal divisions, urging them to close ranks and ensure the South completes its full tenure before power rotates back to the North in 2031.
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