The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has urged aspirants of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Abia State not to abandon their ambitions ahead of the 2027 general elections, insisting that the state must move closer to the centre for greater political and economic benefits.
Kalu spoke on Wednesday while receiving frontline governorship aspirant Dr Eric Opah at his country home in Bende, Abia State, where he assured party members of his continued support for the APC’s political expansion in the state.
He said, “Anybody who has picked a form, keep trying to be on the ballot paper. Don’t give up because Benjamin Kalu is not going for the governorship. That’s my message to everyone.”
The Deputy Speaker added that the same determination that launched the APC’s political struggle in Abia must be sustained until the end.
“We’re not going to relent. We’re going to support. It is only in that fire that we can make somebody a governor. It is only in that fire that senators will emerge. It is only in that fire that the president will emerge with our contribution from Abia State,” he said.
Kalu disclosed that former Minister of State for Science, Technology, and Innovation, Chief Henry Ikoh, as well as Mascot Uzor Kalu, had formally informed him of their governorship ambitions.
He, however, advised party leaders and stakeholders to first consider consensus arrangements before resorting to direct primaries in selecting the party’s governorship candidate.
“It’s either you agree with one another or we’ll go for direct primaries,” Kalu stated.
The Deputy Speaker cautioned against zoning the governorship ticket outside the Abia Central Senatorial District, arguing that doing so would undermine the state’s rotational power arrangement.
“It will be wrong for the APC in the state to zone the governorship ticket away from where the current governor is operafrom. It will be wrong,” he said.
According to him, the zoning arrangement had helped to reduce political tension, violence and acrimony in Abia politics, while also promoting fairness and cohesion among the various senatorial zones.
“My appeal to APC members is to remember what has united us as a people in Abia State. Let us respect that for the sake of cohesion,” Kalu added.
Reflecting on his earlier statement that “APC will take Abia”, the Deputy Speaker said many people wrongly interpreted the comment as a declaration of personal ambition.
“I made a statement some years ago, and people thought I was talking about myself. I said APC will take Abia, and they were thinking that Benjamin Kalu was saying it about himself,” he explained.
Kalu further argued that Abia State had remained too distant from federal political power and was losing opportunities that could come from closer alignment with the government at the centre.
“The party at the centre has access to resources that Abians were supposed to benefit from. Abia is too far from the centre. We can come closer,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker also commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for promoting true federalism and strengthening subnational governments through increased support and resource allocation.
“My president is being celebrated in the whole of Nigeria because he believes in true federalism. This state, in appreciation, should align,” Kalu said.
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