A former Speaker of the Imo State House of Assembly and prominent All Progressives Congress chieftain in the South-East, Rt. Hon. Chinedu Offor, has criticised the recent endorsement of President Bola Tinubu for a second term by APC leaders and stakeholders from the region.
Offor spoke against the backdrop of a meeting of key APC stakeholders in Enugu, where party leaders from the South-East publicly reaffirmed their support for Tinubu’s re-election bid ahead of the 2027 general election, citing what they described as his administration’s achievements over the past two and a half years.
However, speaking with journalists on Thursday, Offor said the endorsement was rushed and did not reflect the collective will of the people of the South-East.
According to him, the leaders who attended the Enugu meeting spoke only for themselves and lacked the mandate to make such a far-reaching political decision on behalf of the entire region.
He argued that the endorsement had further deepened internal disagreements within the ruling party, stressing that millions of Igbo people were yet to take a position on the 2027 presidential election.
Offor reminded elected officials and party leaders from the zone that residents across the five South-East states were more concerned about governance, economic relief and tangible dividends of democracy than early endorsements.
The APC stalwart said the Enugu meeting should have been used to deliberate on the region’s pressing socio-economic and infrastructural challenges, with a view to engaging President Tinubu directly for urgent intervention.
He further maintained that the South-East had not benefited sufficiently under the current administration, noting that other geopolitical zones appeared to have enjoyed more federal presence and impactful projects.
Offor added that Nigerians, regardless of ethnicity, religion or party affiliation, would ultimately decide the president’s fate at the polls, not a handful of party stakeholders.
He urged public office holders from the South-East to scale down what he described as premature political manoeuvring and instead focus on policies that would drive human capital development, economic growth and infrastructural advancement across the region.
According to him, only responsive and inclusive governance would shape voters’ decisions ahead of the 2027 general election.