A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON), Osita Okechukwu, has congratulated President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on his landslide victory in the party’s presidential primary election, warning that the outcome places enormous responsibility on the ruling party ahead of the 2027 general election.
Okechukwu also commended the leadership of the APC for adhering to the rule of law and embracing direct primaries across the country’s 8,809 electoral wards, describing the exercise as a demonstration of internal democracy.
According to him, in a statement issued in Abuja on Sunday, the APC’s conduct contrasted sharply with the crisis currently rocking the opposition African Democratic Congress (ADC), which he said is embroiled in zoning controversies over the emergence of its presidential flag bearer.
“May I congratulate Mr President for his landslide victory and join him in positing that the victory poses enormous challenges to our great party, because to whom much is given, much is expected,” he said.
“In fact, I am in league with Mr President in his profound statement: ‘I’m just excited; they challenge me to do more.’
Okechukwu noted that the impressive figures recorded in several states reflected the confidence and trust party members reposed in President Tinubu’s leadership.
He cited results from Ogun State with 322,485 votes; Benue State, 374,787 votes; Rivers State, 280,082 votes; Delta State, 407,646 votes; Abia State, 161,005 votes; and Osun State, 100,880 votes.
The APC stalwart, however, cautioned that the huge figures generated during the primaries have now raised expectations for the party and its leadership ahead of the presidential election.
He stressed that President Tinubu, the 31 APC governors and party lawmakers must work hard to justify the confidence shown by party members and replicate the same momentum during the general election.
“My fears for the tall order results,” he said, “are guided by many factors; among which are the history of low voter turnout, hunger in the land, palpable insecurity, gross unemployment, epileptic power supply, and the unfavourable debt-to-service-revenue ratio.”
Okechukwu therefore urged the President and APC governors to urgently address the socio-economic challenges confronting Nigerians in line with Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.
He warned that with less than seven months to the general elections, the ruling party must intensify efforts to improve the welfare and security of citizens to sustain public confidence and electoral support.
