……Group rejects alleged endorsement of Halims Ibrahim’s third-term bid, challenges lawmaker to showcase projects in Imane
The Imane Renaissance has declared its total support for Hon. Gowon Enenche, popularly known as G-1, the Social Democratic Party (SDP) House of Representatives candidate for Ankpa, Omala and Olamaboro Federal Constituency, insisting that Imane youths have not unanimously endorsed the re-election bid of the incumbent lawmaker, Hon. Halims Ibrahim.
The group made its position known in a statement issued on Wednesday and signed by its National President, Mr. Usman Agada, in reaction to a video in which Dr. Mohammed Edoka allegedly claimed that Imane youths across Nigeria had unanimously endorsed Halims for a third term in the House of Representatives.
Describing the alleged endorsement claim as false, misleading and offensive to the sensibilities of the Imane people, the organisation maintained that no individual should presume to speak for the entire youth population of the community without a clear and collective mandate.
“The claim is not only untrue, fabricated, deceitful and misleading, but also very offensive to the sensibilities of an average Imanian whose country home has not felt the impact of Hon. Halims’ representation in the last eight years,” Agada stated.
The group, however, acknowledged the constitutional right of eligible voters to make independent political choices and associate with candidates of their preference, stressing that its objection was directed at the purported attempt to portray all Imane youths as having reached a unanimous political decision.
“While the Imane Renaissance respects the freedom of every eligible voter of Imane extraction to make their respective political choices and align with any politician who best serves their interests, it is disingenuous for Dr. Mohammed Edoka to stand truth on its head by affirming that all Imane youths have agreed to queue behind Hon. Halims,” the statement read.
Agada further expressed concern over what the organisation described as the prolonged marginalisation of Imane in the distribution of democratic dividends since the return to constitutional democracy in 1999.
According to him, the community’s development concerns make it inappropriate for any political actor to present the incumbent federal lawmaker as the unanimous choice of its youths without demonstrable evidence of such support.
“As illustrious children of Imane Kingdom who are pained by the continuous neglect and exclusion Imane has suffered since our return to constitutional democracy in 1999, we see it as an insult for a respected individual like Dr. Edoka to project Hon. Halims as the choice of Imane youths,” he said.
The organisation consequently dissociated itself from the alleged endorsement, challenging Edoka and those it described as his associates to identify projects reportedly executed by Halims in any part of Imane during his eight-year tenure.
“We dissociate ourselves from and debunk whatever claim links all Imane youths to the kangaroo endorsement of a parliamentarian that has no single project in Imane in the last eight years,” Agada declared.
“We challenge Dr. Edoka and his co-travellers to point at a single project that their candidate has executed in any part of Imane.”
The group also criticised what it characterised as a pattern of political engagement in which elected representatives allegedly pay insufficient attention to the community between elections but return to solicit support as another electoral cycle approaches.
“It is unheard of and sacrilegious for Imane youths to stand behind a man who has kept a distance from them in the last eight years and only remembers them months preceding an election,” the statement added.
It argued that Imane, which it described as a sophisticated and politically enlightened community, should not be treated as a constituency whose relevance is acknowledged only during election campaigns.
“Imane is too sophisticated and enlightened a district to be reduced to a place where politicians dish out empty promises and varnish once elections are concluded,” Agada said.
Against this backdrop, the group announced its decision to rally behind Enenche, whom it described as a son, brother and kinsman with a demonstrated commitment to humanitarian service and community development.
It claimed that Enenche, a businessman and humanitarian, had undertaken more visible and impactful projects across the federal constituency than the incumbent lawmaker, arguing that representation should be assessed against tangible contributions to the welfare and advancement of constituents.
“Since elected representatives within the Ankpa Federal Constituency have relegated Imane to the background and never considered us as a people or community that deserves government presence or projects, we have resolved to stand behind our son, brother and kinsman, Hon. Gowon Enenche, popularly called G-1,” the statement said.
The group urged Imanians at home and in the diaspora to reject what it described as attempts to misrepresent the political disposition of the community and to make their electoral decisions based on development, accountability and the interests of their people.
It maintained that its support for Enenche was unequivocal, pledging to mobilise behind his aspiration as political activities intensify ahead of the forthcoming election.
“Finally, our support for our son, Hon. Gowon Enenche of the SDP, is total and absolute. We have resolved to queue behind his aspiration and offer him the needed support as we count down to the election season,” Agada declared.
He added: “A vote for Hon. Enenche is a vote for development, progress and advancement of our kingdom that has suffered years of neglect.”
The statement was signed by Mr. Usman Agada, National President of Imane Renaissance, on October 21, 2026.
The allegations concerning the incumbent lawmaker’s record of representation and the purported endorsement attributed to Dr. Edoka were presented by the group in its statement. The claims were not independently verified for this report, and no response from Halims Ibrahim or Dr. Mohammed Edoka was included in the material made available.
