Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the South East have formally endorsed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for a second term in office, declaring that pragmatic, interest-driven politics anchored on bridge-building, partnership and strategic alignment with the centre has become imperative for the future of the Igbo nation.
The leaders vowed to mobilise massive votes for Tinubu’s re-election in the 2027 general election, while committing to a collective political agenda that rejects individual ambitions capable of fragmenting the region’s votes and weakening its bargaining power at the national level.
The endorsement was the high point of the South East APC Stakeholders’ Meeting, tagged “Izu Umunna,” held at the Presidential Hotel, Enugu. The gathering brought together governors, party leaders, lawmakers, elders and critical stakeholders from across the zone to review the region’s political direction and agree on full alignment with the ruling party at the centre.
Speaking at the meeting on Saturday, the Governor of Imo State and Chairman of the South East Governors’ Forum, Senator Hope Uzodinma, said President Tinubu had entrusted the political future of his re-election to the South East, describing it as both an honour and a responsibility.
Uzodinma stressed that the region could no longer afford political isolation, recalling that the South East’s minimal contribution to the APC’s victory in the 2023 presidential election significantly weakened its influence at the national level.
He noted that while other zones contributed between 34 and 54 per cent of votes to the APC in 2023, the South East recorded about six per cent, a situation he described as politically unsustainable.
According to him, the political tide in the region has since shifted, pointing to the growing strength of the APC, which now controls three of the five South East states. He added that the party’s representation in the Senate had increased from six to eight senators, while APC lawmakers from the region in the House of Representatives had risen from eight to 23.
“These numbers give us hope, but they also give us a challenge,” Uzodinma said.
“The growth we see among leaders must reflect at the ballot box in 2027. Politics is pay as you earn. No zone can produce a president alone, and if we continue to vote provincially, we will remain on the sidelines of national power,” he added.
In his address, the Governor of Enugu State, Dr. Peter Mbah, described the endorsement of President Tinubu and the growing alignment of the South East with the APC as a “paradigm shift grounded in pragmatism.”
He said the region had moved from “standing at the crossroads of history to shaping history itself.”
Mbah explained that the decision to support Tinubu’s re-election was anchored on facts, vision and the tangible gains already accruing to the region from alignment with the centre.
He cited key federal interventions, including renewed attention to the Eastern Railway corridor, gas and energy development initiatives in the region, and the approval of the concession of the Enugu Airport, which he said would position the state as an international gateway for the South East.
“The Renewed Hope Agenda is beyond a political slogan,” Mbah said. “It is about aligning vision at the centre with delivery at the states. These are not symbolic gestures but strategic decisions that show a federal leadership committed to inclusive governance.”
Also speaking, the Governor of Ebonyi State, Francis Nwifuru, expressed confidence that by 2027 all South East governors would be members of the APC.
He urged party leaders to prioritise reconciliation and sacrifice, stressing that the influx of new members required effective internal management rather than further party building.
“I want to urge our leaders that we need to forgive one another and make a lot of sacrifices so that those that are joining us now will have a place in our party,” Nwifuru said.
The motion endorsing President Tinubu for a second term was formally moved by former Senate President, Senator Pius Anyim, and seconded by another former Senate President, Senator Ken Nnamani, who described the decision as courageous and strategic.
Nnamani warned that complaints of marginalisation would persist if the South East failed to engage in pragmatic politics, likening the situation to crying in the rain.
“If you cry in the rain, nobody would notice you. If you want to avoid the rain, you must enter the shade,” he said.
The meeting ended with the presentation of a communique jointly signed by governors, party leaders and stakeholders, unanimously declaring total support for President Tinubu as the APC’s sole presidential candidate for the 2027 elections.
The leaders rejected what they described as ego-driven and divisive politics, calling for unity of purpose among political leaders and the wider Igbo population.
“The people of the South-East Zone categorically dissociate themselves from all activities motivated by the self-serving interests of any individual, however highly placed. We affirm that the progress of our zone and our great party cannot be achieved through narrow personal ambitions or actions that fracture collective unity,” the communique stated.
“Any such conduct shall henceforth be regarded as contrary to our shared aspirations and will receive neither endorsement nor support from our zone.
“The political leadership of the South-East has resolved, in the supreme interest of Ndi Igbo, that never again will we allow personal ego and motivated actions to influence the fate of the Zone. In this regard, the South-East will join other zones in supporting the ruling party, wherein our leaders can effectively negotiate better representation and interests of our people,” it added.
The stakeholders urged Ndigbo at home and in the diaspora to embrace the APC as the most viable platform for advancing the political and economic interests of the region, warning that dispersing votes across multiple parties had historically weakened the South East’s influence nationally.
They further pledged to mobilise human, material and political resources to deliver bloc votes for Tinubu across the five South East states in 2027, assigning specific coordination and mobilisation responsibilities to governors within and across the states.
Other prominent figures at the meeting included the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu; former Governors Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi and Ikedi Ohakim, as well as several senators, lawmakers and party elders from across the zone.
