2027: No Justification To Keep APC In Imo – Says APP State Publicity Secretary

IKECHI CHIKA 

With the 2027 general elections drawing closer, political gladiators in Imo State have intensified behind-the-scenes manoeuvring, crafting fresh strategies and counter-strategies to shape the emerging electoral battleground. While the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) continues to wield significant influence, a swelling chorus of discontent tones among residents has placed the party’s continued dominance under serious question.

Speaking to journalists in Owerri yesterday, Cajetan Duke, State Publicity Secretary of the Action Peoples Party (APP), delivered a stark prediction: “Imolites have no other justification but to reject the All Progressives Congress at the polls in 2027.” He insisted that the people’s growing frustration has reached a tipping point, leaving the APC vulnerable in what could become a defining election for the state.

Duke pointed to the sharp increase in federal allocations through the Federation Account Allocation Committee (FAAC), yet argued that “there is nothing practically on ground to justify the humongous allocation at the disposal of the APC-led government in Imo State.” He maintained that despite improved revenue inflows, ordinary citizens have seen little to no corresponding improvement in their daily lives.

A tour of various local government areas, according to the APP spokesman, exposes “a total disconnection of our people from the state government.” He described the prevailing scene across Imo’s landscape as one marked by “dilapidated road infrastructure, collapsed public schools, decayed and abandoned primary health care centres, hunger and deprivation,” painting a grim picture of neglect that opposition voices say contradicts the government’s claims of progress.

Even after the Supreme Court’s landmark ruling affirming local government autonomy and direct allocation management, Duke lamented that “our local government headquarters are not breathing under this administration.” He suggested that the judgment, intended to empower grassroots governance, has failed to translate into meaningful change under the current leadership.

Across party lines, a rare agreement appears to be emerging. As Duke put it, “There is this agreement by our people irrespective of party affiliation that the APC government in Imo State is not for the masses and the best time to show them the way out is here.” Positioning the Action Peoples Party as the vehicle for change, he vowed that APP “promises to mobilise the people for this singular course” of Imo’s liberation, economic revival, and lasting political stability ahead of the crucial 2027 polls. He therefore urged the people to take advantage of the ongoing membership revalidation and registration exercise of the party to join Mazi Chima Matthew Amadi and other stakeholders of the party to be part of Imo liberation.