Tension too high ahead of 2027 elections – Obong Victor Attah

Two-time governor of Akwa Ibom State, Obong Victor Attah, has said the tension in the polity is too high ahead of the 2027 elections in the country.

Attah, a frontrunner in the fight for Resource Control, disclosed at the weekend during the commissioning of a N102 million asphalt overlay road in Ilọrin, Kwara State.

The one kilometer road with drainages on both sides was single handedly funded by former All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential aspirant, Gbenga Olawepo-Hashim.

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He said the project would improve the health, social and economic well-being of the people of the community.

Speaking with newsmen after the inauguration of the project, the former governor said, “Nobody should attempt to go into election with this constitution in 2027. This is because the tension is too high and we need to resolve all the problems facing us”.

He said Nigeria doesn’t have a nation and presently lacks national or economic policies, adding that the present system needs to be changed.

“That is all I am preaching, it’s not about insecurity, health or economic issues but we have failed to develop the country into a nation with common shared values”

“Nobody can be forced into a union and told to form a country and they will agree to stay. Until we have a constitution that Nigerians prepared for themselves and are using with shared values, equality, equity and justice, believe me, we can (ruin) this country”, he noted.

The former Akwa Ibom governor who is now a leader of the Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) expressed regret that the country was in the trajectory of development until the 1966 coup which led to the suspension of the constitution.

He said unlike in the past when it took the country seven years to fashion out a constitution from 1953-1960, it won’t take 6 months this time around.

“We can do it and until we do it, and I want us to do it so that there will be an election in 2027.

“But at the moment if you attempt to go into election with everybody complaining about INEC, insecurity and several other issues of disagreement, you would ruin the country because the tension is too high”, he submitted.

On his part, former Governor of Jigawa state, Sule Lamido, who hailed Olawepo-Hashim for financing the project, underscored the need for the opposition PDP to reconcile misgivings ahead of the coming election.

“We are going through some difficulty as a political party and the less we speak about the crisis, the better for us. When we are making peace, we must prioritize giving confidence to all the members, both leaders and followers.

“We are forging ahead to reconcile, now if you keep on bringing division and creating more problems about who is this and that, the party will never make progress. The PDP should be supported in its rebuilding process to ensure it is thoroughly reconciled so that we can save Nigeria”, he stated.

Lamido urged Governor Abdulrahman AbdulRazaq to tar other roads in the community to support the efforts of the financier to do more.

Former speaker of the Oyo State House of Assembly, Asimiyu Alarape, described the donor as a detribalised Nigerian who should be emulated.

In his remark, Olawepo-Hashim urged politicians to prioritise development of their communities adding that the “project is our token of love and show of gratitude to God. That is why we are giving back to society.”

Tucked inside the belly of Ifedolapo community in Ilorin, the state capital, residents say the project is in addition to the constant helping hands of Olawepo-Hashim to the community.