An All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial candidate for Abia South, Prince Paul Ikonne, reportedly told The Sun on May 15, 2026, that the South-East is seeing a change in political power away from the Labour Party and its momentum from the 2023 election.………
In his comments, Ikonne reacted to the upcoming elections in Abia State and the broader Igbo political landscape, citing Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe’s alleged split from the Labour Party’s camp as evidence of shifting power dynamics in the area.
According to him, the political strength that supported the Labour Party in the South-East in the past is not as strong as it was in the most recent election cycle. This, he said, is indicative of a larger trend of the party’s weak support wave from the 2023 general election.
He stated his belief that the Labour Party is not firmly established in Abia State and that its grassroots structures are unable to maintain the same level of influence it had during the 2023 presidential election, and that this has led to a decrease in the enthusiasm and mass support that followed the election.
According to Ikonne, there seems to be a shift in the South-East’s political landscape, with voters and stakeholders reevaluating their choices in anticipation of future elections. He went on to say that these developments indicate that the region is less likely to have a political surge similar to what happened in 2023.
The fact that Abaribe has abandoned Peter Obi shows that the South East will not experience a repeat of the general election in 2023. The fact is that Peter Obi will not experience the same level of success as he had in 2023. According to him, the Labour Party (LP) isn’t quite active in Abia State.
