The fight for the soul of the Abia State All Progressives Congress and its governorship ticket intensified on Monday morning as two of the party’s most powerful figures issued conflicting statements on social media, each claiming the President’s backing to lead the party’s affairs in the state.
Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, in a post on his social media handle, expressed gratitude to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for what he described as a reaffirmation of an existing political model.
“Thank you, the President and Commander in chief of the Armed forces , President Bola Ahmed Tinubu GCFR, for insisting that Governors should handle the issues of the party in the states with APC Governors , while the highest ranking political office holders like the Deputy Speaker takes care of the affairs in Abia state,” Benjamin Kalu wrote.
He further noted that the President had reemphasised this directive during an engagement on Friday, adding that the model had already brought the party great success through ward, local government, and state congresses.
“Thanks for reemphasising this on Friday during the engagement. You have always worked with this model all through the ward, Local Government and State congresses and it has brought us great success.
It has united the party more than ever before and we are ready to win elections in Abia state for you and for every one who has an interest to contest under our party,” the Deputy Speaker stated.
But in a separate post published around the same time, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Abia State and current senator representing Abia North, presented a different version of the President’s directive.
“I sincerely thank His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the confidence reposed in me and the marching order to coordinate activities in Abia State in respect of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC),” Orji Kalu wrote.
The senator, who described himself as “the most senior Governor in the state,” pledged his commitment to working with all stakeholders in line with the President’s directive to ensure the party produces widely acceptable candidates.At the heart of this battle is one prize: the APC governorship ticket for 2027.
Both men are jostling to control the party machinery that will produce the candidate, and the stakes could not be higher.
What makes the Abia APC situation particularly delicate is that the party has no sitting governor in the state. Unlike in states such as Lagos, Kano or Imo where the governor serves as the natural party leader, Abia APC finds itself in uncharted territory.
This vacuum has now become a battlefield, with Orji Kalu pointing to his senatorial status and previous governorship experience, and Benjamin Kalu pointing to his position as the highest ranking elected official from Abia in the federal government.
The President’s broader directive to the party has been consistent: consensus remains the preferred mode of candidate selection, but where consensus fails, direct primaries will be the fallback option. The party’s national timetable already reflects this, with governorship primaries scheduled for May 21, 2026. For a party without a governor to broker peace or enforce discipline, the scramble for the ticket before that date has become frantic.
Spear News Nigeria gathered that the conflicting claims have thrown the party’s state machinery into confusion, with loyalists of both politicians struggling to interpret who truly holds the President’s mandate to steer the party toward the governorship primary.
The battle for the ticket is further complicated by family dynamics. Sources close to the party revealed that Senator Orji Kalu is pushing for his younger brother, Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, to secure the party’s gubernatorial nomination.
Mascot Kalu, a businessman and former governorship candidate of the Action Peoples Party in 2023, has already declared his intention to contest under the APC platform. Earlier this month, he issued a strong warning against any attempt to impose a candidate on the party.
“Let it be stated clearly and without ambiguity: any premeditated consensus arrangement orchestrated by the APC State Working Committee and stakeholders, without the participation of all aspirants contesting for the same position, is illegitimate, unacceptable, and null and void, ab initio,” Mascot Kalu had said in a statement rejecting the endorsement of Benjamin Kalu by some party stakeholders.”Such an imposition will be met with stiff and unequivocal resistance,” he added.The development stemed from a recent stakeholders’ meeting where some party leaders from the state’s three senatorial districts endorsed Benjamin Kalu for the governorship ticket.However, the endorsement was swiftly condemned by Mascot Kalu’s camp and has since become a major source of friction within the party.A chieftain of the party, Chief Agwu Emeaba, had warned earlier this month that the endorsement was a “dangerous” move that could trigger an implosion within the party. He argued that sidelining other aspirants including Mascot Kalu and former Minister Henry Ikoh was widening existing cracks and divisions within Abia APC.
“The real question is not whether Benjamin Kalu has become visible nationally, but whether he is the right person to carry a party that is still trying to consolidate itself in Abia,” Emeaba had stated.
He further alleged that several party stalwarts were aggrieved that the deputy speaker was holding meetings and consultations without involving Senator Orji Kalu and the other governorship hopefuls, describing it as “political amnesia” that weakens the party.
Interestingly, the Abia APC State Working Committee had earlier denied endorsing any governorship aspirant, with party spokesman Uche Aguoru describing such claims as “entirely false, misleading and without any basis.
“”For the avoidance of doubt, the State Working Committee has not endorsed any aspirant for the governorship ticket or for any elective position whatsoever,” Aguoru had said.
Despite the party’s denial, the camps appear to have hardened their positions, with Monday morning’s social media statements from the two Kalu’s suggesting that the scramble for the ticket is far from settled.
The crisis comes at a particularly sensitive time for the APC in Abia State as it faces an uphill task in its bid to unseat incumbent Governor Alex Otti, who enjoys solid grassroots support across the state.
Governor Otti, who left the APC for the Labour Party to contest the 2023 election, has maintained impressive popularity among Abians. Political observers note that defeating Otti in 2027 will require far more than federal might.
The governor’s approval ratings remain high, and his administration’s projects across Aba and other parts of the state have earned him goodwill that transcends party lines.Observers argue that for the APC to stand any chance against Otti, the party must present a united front and a single, widely accepted candidate.
The current jostling for control of the ticket between the camps of Benjamin Kalu and the Orji Kalu-backed Mascot Kalu threatens to undermine whatever chances the party might have had. And with no governor to assert authority and enforce discipline, Abia APC may be walking into the 2027 election cycle deeply fractured.
Despite the escalating battle, Senator Orji Kalu had as recently as last month dismissed speculations of any rift within the Abia APC, telling supporters at his residence in Igbere that party members were more united than ever and determined to deliver the state for President Tinubu in 2027.
“There is full reconciliation in APC and anyone who dislikes it can move to another party,” Orji Kalu had said, adding “APC will produce all House of Assembly members, House of Representatives members, the three senators, the governor and the president.”But Monday morning’s duelling statements from the two leaders suggest otherwise. With both men claiming to have the President’s directive, with the fight for the ticket already generating bitter exchanges, and with no governor to serve as a unifying figure, the APC in Abia appears headed for a showdown that could determine not just who flies the party’s flag in 2027, but whether the party can present any meaningful challenge to Governor Otti at all.
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