Akobundu accuses Tinubu of changing the south-east of the country – Politics – The Guardian Nigeria News – Nigeria and world news

• Cabinet reshuffle: Akobundu accuses Tinubu of changing the position of the south-east
• Says PDP will win Abia City Council poll

The Senator representing Abia Central Constituency under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Austin Akobundu, has lambasted President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for allegedly excluding the South-East geopolitical zone during the recent cabinet reshuffle.

He stated that the President’s actions perpetuate regional disproportions in representation.

This comes after another Abia senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe, representing Abia South, accused President Tinubu of showing the South-East a “renewed shege”.

Abaribe alleged that there was a cabinet reshuffle that resulted in Bianca Ojukwu becoming Minister of State for Foreign Affairs.

Tinubu removed five ministers, appointing seven and reassigning 10 to new portfolios.

The president relieved Uju-Ken Ohanenye of her duties as the Minister of Women’s Affairs.

Reacting to this, Abaribe said that sacking the South East minister and replacing him with another “doesn’t seem like progress.”

Akobundu, speaking to The Guardian in Abia State, said the reshuffled Federal Executive Council (FEC) in the South-East zone has one minister in each state as before the reshuffle, while some zones have been given more than one.

The senator lamented that each Southeastern state still had one minister as per the constitution, with no additional regional minister, given that the seven-state Northwest and the six-state Southwest were reportedly given an additional three ministerial positions, making them each has 10 and 9 ministers respectively.

He also said that the Northeast and North Central zones, each consisting of six states, have been given two additional ministerial seats each, meaning they each have eight ministers, while the South-South zone comprising six states received an additional regional minister.

He said: “The South East is feeling the lack of change. When the first batch of nominations were made, we clearly saw that the South East saw little change in terms of zonal representation. Actions have been taken in the Senate to draw the attention of the executive branch to this injustice. Now that it has happened again, after studying and analyzing the spread, we will continue to raise our awareness.”

Akobundu, also reacting to other issues in Abia and his constituency, including the perennially dilapidated state of the Umuahia-Ikot Ekpene Federal Road that runs through his Ikwuano axis, and the Abia State Council elections scheduled for November 2, 2024, expressed concern this road, however, as he revealed, he received assurances from the Minister of Works that work on the 51-kilometer road would be resumed soon.

He, however, predicted PDP victory in the scheduled council elections despite the party being the opposition in the state, saying: “We are not afraid of the Labor Party (LP)-controlled state government. We will take part in the council elections. We encourage our candidates to demonstrate their capabilities, having gone through the necessary processes to ensure their full participation.