…Says APC ’ll Claim Abia in 2027
Stephen Ukandu, Umuahia
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has hinted that President Ahmed Tinubu is keen on establishing a seaport in the South East geopolitical zone.
Kalu made the disclosure on Sunday in Umuahia while addressing a mammoth crowd of his supporters, adding that the proposed seaport was part of President Tinubu’s appreciation of the South-East’s deep involvement in trade and commerce.
The Deputy Speaker also boasted that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would take over Abia State in 2027.
According to him, “We are going to take over Abia in 2027. We want to work with the President to move our state forward. When they see us gather, they think it’s about money. It’s not about money — it’s about the love we have for our President and the momentum for what will come in 2027.
“The crowd here is not a rented crowd; it’s organic. They are here to move the state and the federal government forward.”
While acknowledging some of the achievements recorded by the Labour Party-led administration in Abia, Kalu argued that they were not commensurate with the volume of funds currently accruing to the state from the federation account.
“You cannot be getting the kind of money you are getting and still be doing the job that former governors were doing with far less,” he said. “The former governors got ₦4 billion or ₦5 billion monthly, but today, Tinubu releases ₦38 billion to ₦40 billion every month. You cannot expect us to compare that.”
Reinforcing his earlier stance when President Tinubu visited Abia to inaugurate some projects executed by Governor Alex Otti, Kalu said nobody should expect him, as an opposition leader in the state, to sing the governor’s praises.
He argued that President Tinubu should be commended for the progress seen across states, attributing it to the President’s decision to release more funds to subnational governments.
“The miracle maker is not the governors but the President who releases money to states now. The real miracle worker is the man who stopped fuel subsidy and didn’t keep the money in his pocket or in Abuja but released it to the states,” he said.
Kalu vowed not to be intimidated by verbal attacks trailing his recent criticisms of the state government, insisting that he would continue to speak for the masses.
“We can be friends or even family, but as long as we are in different political parties, my job is to be the watchdog of the administration. The leader of this administration might be my friend, but I am the opposition leader, and as such, I must speak for the people,” he declared.
The Deputy Speaker, however, clarified that the APC’s plan to take over Abia would not be through the use of federal might but by popular votes.
“We are not going to take over this state by force. They say we will use government power — no! We are going to win through the masses who are saying they need more. Those are the people who will vote for APC,” he stated.
He further hinted that the APC would hold a mega rally in December to demonstrate its growing popularity in the state when the ban on campaigns would be lifted.
Kalu urged Abians to obtain their Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) before the ongoing Continuous Voter Registration (CVR) exercise ends, to enable them to participate in the coming elections.
“You must get your PVC now. All of us must get registered,” he emphasized.
The Deputy Speaker also encouraged students in tertiary institutions in the South-East to take advantage of the Students’ Loan Scheme introduced by the Tinubu administration, while urging traders and artisans in Abia to form cooperative societies and affiliate with the Renewed Hope Cooperative Partners to access federal government financial support.
He called on the South-East to continue supporting President Tinubu, whom he said “has done well and means well for the zone.”
Prominent APC chieftains at the Independence Anniversary get-together included former Speaker of the Abia House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Stanley Ohajuruka; Chief Sam Onuigbo, who represents the South-East in the North-East Development Commission; and former Commissioner for Local Government and Chieftaincy Affairs, Chief Charles Ogbonnaya, among other party stalwarts.
The event was almost turned into a political rally as various APC support groups drummed support for the Deputy Speaker and President Tinubu. Some groups even urged Kalu to join the 2027 Abia governorship race, but he tactfully avoided making any definite statement on the matter.
