The last gubernatorial candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Sen. Athan Achonu, who also represented Imo East in the Senate, in an interview with The Sun, spoke on a range of national issues, including insecurity, the state of opposition politics in Nigeria, his reasons for not joining the African Democratic Congress (ADC), and his eventual defection to APGA.
When asked whether any opposition party, including the ADC, could stop President Bola Tinubu from securing a second term in 2027, he responded that people had questioned why he did not join the ADC. He said he could not join the party because, in his view, the individuals in it were not significantly different from those in the All Progressives Congress (APC).
He further questioned whether figures such as Nasir el-Rufai or former Attorney-General Abubakar Malami represented any real change, alleging that political manipulation had in some cases led to individuals who lost elections being installed as governors.
He also questioned whether Rauf Aregbesola was serving as Minister of Interior when Nigeria’s borders were opened, suggesting that this period contributed to the entry of terrorists into the country and implying that he bore some responsibility for the outcome.
He further made allegations concerning Atiku Abubakar, claiming that he had not publicly condemned killings in Nigeria and that a previous post he made was taken down following pressure from Islamist groups.
He added that his decision to join the Labour Party was not based solely on Peter Obi, but on his belief that it was a relatively “clean” political platform. He said he was also influenced by the presence of individuals such as Alex Otti and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, whom he respected.
Further talking, he said, “But ADC, I cannot join ADC. Or is it Amaechi? Amaechi was Minister of Transport for eight years and he took our rail line to Maradi and did not put any in Imo State or Rivers State where he comes from, where he was governor for eight years. So those are not people I can associate with politically.” Read_More…