Why IGBO Leaders Are Divided

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• Over Support For Pres. TINUBU’s 2nd Term

Will the South East vote for Pres. Tinubu for a 2nd term? That is the big question many people are asking right now as some of the South East governors have different views.

The South East has 5 governors, namely Dr. Alex Otti (Abia), Prof. Charles Chukwuma Soludo (Anambra), Peter Mbah (Enugu), Sen. Hope Uzodinma (Imo) and Rt. Hon. Francis Ogbonna Nwifuru (Ebonyi).

What generated the debate was the recent face-off between the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti who has publicly distanced himself from the recent remarks by Imo State Governor, Hope Uzodimma, who claimed last Wednesday that all 5 South-East governors had reached a consensus to back President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Otti made his position clear last Thursday, July 23, during his monthly media briefing held in Umuahia, saying Uzodimma was free to speak for himself, but had no authority to speak for every governor in the region.

Uzodimma’s comments came during a meeting with the Imo State Elders Council and traditional rulers in Owerri on Wednesday, 22nd July 2026, where he described Tinubu as having shown “unprecedented commitment” to developing the South-East through his Renewed Hope Agenda.

He presented the support for the president’s second term as a shared position among the region’s 5 governors. Responding directly to those claims, Otti acknowledged that Uzodimma had every right to voice his own views as governor, but insisted that the right did not extend to speaking on behalf of his colleagues across the region.

The Labour Party (LP) governor did not entirely distance himself from the federal government , however. He reiterated his long-standing approval of certain economic decisions taken by the Tinubu administration, particularly the removal of the petrol subsidy, noting that his support for such policies existed even before he was elected governor. He has previously described those policies as “courageous.”

On the question of the 2027 elections, Otti was direct: the Labour Party would back its own presidential candidate and would not be taking positions on behalf of other parties. He added that his party would not stand in the way of anyone exercising their constitutional right to contest.

The political reality in the South-East complicates any claim of a unified position. Of the 5 governors, only three belong to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC): Francis Nwifuru of Ebonyi, Uzodimma of Imo, and Peter Mbah of Enugu. Otti governs Abia under the Labour Party banner while Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra recently won a second term on the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) platform.

Given this spread across 3 separate parties, Otti’s pushback signals that any South-East endorsement of Tinubu’s second term bid cannot be treated as a bloc decision without the explicit agreement of each governor.

Uche Aguoru, the APC Spokesperson in Abia, labelled the endorsement claim as misleading and malicious propaganda.

The APC also condemned the partisan use of traditional rulers for political support in the upcoming elections.

Uzodinma’s position has always been that the South East will vote for Tinubu because of what he has done in the East in the last 3 years.

City People gathered that Igbo leaders are divided over Tinubu’s 2nd term because its not one bloc. It’s 3 different calculations running at once. And Igbo interest means different things to different people.

City People further gathered that  there are 3 camps in Igbo politics. The first camp is the Igbo APC camp led by Minister Dave Umahi, Hope Uzodinma, Orji Kalu & others. They believe that despite the fact that the zone didn’t vote for Tinubu in 2023, he gave them Ministers and appointments in boards and parastatals. It is better for us to remain inside the loop and negotiate from inside Aso Rock, than  stay outside and be shouting.

The 2nd group is what has been called the Wait-and-See Group made up of some Senators, business leaders and Ohaneze faction. They are saying show us concrete things first, like Roads, South East Port, State police, release Nnamdi Kanu. They say they are not giving Tinubu any blank cheque.

The 3rd group is the Opposition made up of people like Peter Obi who is in NDC, Labour Party leaders, PDP Igbo Governors and IPOB sympathizers. They are saying we voted for Obi in 2023. We would vote for him again. They feel the election was stolen. They are saying don’t trust APC and we want restructuring.

The reason for the division is what some Igbo leaders are saying that the 2023 wound is still fresh. Most South East voters voted LP/Obi. Pres. Tinubu scored low votes in South East. Some others are saying what did we get?. Some Igbo leaders think working with Tinubu can help free Kanu and reduce sit-at-home. Others think Tinubu’s government is too hardline and won’t do it. The Igbo APC leaders say if we support early. Tinubu can be persuaded to back Igbo Presidency in 2031. The Opposition’s response is if we support now, we would kill Igbo Presidency. Let PDP/LP present Igbo candidate.

But there is a group of Igbo Stakeholders, many of whom are Igbo businessman who insist that what they want is Stability, in terms of Markets, Ports, Foreign exchange, roads and the other good things of life. So, they’ll work with any President. But the truth is that no Igbo leader wants South East to be left behind.

The fight is: Do we get more by joining Tinubu now, or by opposing and bargaining harder.

City People gathered that Igbo leaders are divided because there is no Consensus on the best path to 2027 and beyond.

But City People heard that Tinubu has made great in roads into the East and has made some gains. Umahi’s pitch is: shouting won’t build bridges. Let’s come to the table. That resonates with Igbo business people who want contracts and roads. City People has found out that South East has 4 Ministers despite not having voted for Tinubu.

City People found out that the 5 South East governors are close to Tinubu as friends. They all have a personal relationship with him. Many of them have come out to say so. Only 2 South East governors are not in APC. They are Charles Soludo & Alex Otti.

When Gov. Peter Mbah of Enugu dumped PDP for APC on 14th October 2025, he said it was a strategic choice, after months of consultation. His reason: The South East had been loyal to PDP for decades but had open been disregarded when it mattered most. He said joining APC will ensure Enugu’s voice is heard at the national level and align with Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda. PDP lost Enugu after 26 years.  So APC has 3 governors in the South East.

What does this mean for 2027? It means Tinubu has a foothold in the East. What has Pres. Tinubu done for the South East in the last 3 years 2023-2026? He has done a lot in terms of Roads & Infrastructure. South East has benefited from a lot of Legacy Projects. The big one is the Calabar-Ebonyi-Benue-Nasarawa-Abuja Trans Sahara Superhighway. It is a colonial-era road revived by Pres. Tinubu . Section 1 of the road is 123.6km in Ebonyi, dualised, N454 billion with Solar lighting.

50% of the cost is already paid. Section 2 is 178km through Benue, Kogi, Nasarawa to Oweto bridge, cost is N685 billion. It is 28 % completed.

Other roads include (1) Enugu-Onitsha Expressway (dualisation), pushed to active completion. 107km cost is N202 billion to be done via MTN Tax credit (2) Enugu-Port Harcourt Highway is also receiving attention. (3) 2nd Niger Bridge is fully operational now, with CCTV, Solar lighting, Police Patrols. The federal government funded it at N480 million.

There are also 2 rail projects. They are Port-Harcourt-Aba railway. It has been completed and fully operational. There is also the Eastern Rail Line. $3 billion dollars has been approved for the 2044km rail line from Port Harcourt-Aba-Enugu-Makurdi-Jos-Bauchi-Gombe to Maiduguri. It will create 150,000+jobs and connect neglected hubs. Tinubu has also set up Development commissions and embarked on Renewed Hope Housing project.

There is the South-East Development Commission (SEDC) which is now operational with N140 billion budget for 2026 plus N25 billion from 3 South East governors.  There is South East Investment Company (SEIC). A sum of N150 billion has been approved under SEDC to fast-track industrialisation. A lot has been done in the area of Energy, Ports & Industry. There are also initiatives in the area of Education & Agriculture.

That is why Umahi keeps insisting that the South East has witnessed an unprecedented wave of federal infrastructure renewal. Tinubu’s team is pushing the narative of ending decades of exclusion and inclusiveness.

They say when you look at it, South East hasn’t seen this kind of federal government attention in a long time. The 3 biggest wins they point to are (1) Roads finally moving. They are quick to say Calabar-Ebonyi-Abuja super highway and Enugu-Onitsha expressway were abandoned for 20+years. Umahi says those concrete roads will last 100 years (2) They also talk about Rail coming back. Port-Harcourt. Aba rail line done. And Eastern line approved. That alone they say can change Trade for the South East. And (3) they talk about how this is the first time South East will be having its own South-East Development Commission with N140 billion budget for 2026 and South-East Investment company with N150 billion approved, both totalling N290 billion all for South-East development

That is why Governors like Mbah, Uzodinma, and Nwufuru have all aligned with the center and it is yielding fuits.