The Abia State Government has issued a pointed response to Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s declaration that he will work to ensure the All Progressives Congress (APC) wins the state in the 2027 elections, directly questioning the former governor’s political influence in his own constituency.
The rebuttal, signed by the Governor’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, came after Senator Kalu (Abia North) reiterated his commitment to campaigning for President Bola Tinubu and any APC governorship candidate in the next election, while explicitly stating he would not support Governor Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP).
While acknowledging the Senator’s right to support his party, the government stated it was compelled to respond because Kalu “drew the name of Governor Alex Otti into it once again.”
The statement dismissed Kalu’s repeated vows as “pedestrian and ludicrous,” asserting that Governor Otti has never solicited the Senator’s support for re-election.
The government fired back by pointing to the 2023 election results. Its central argument rested on a simple question: if Senator Kalu worked so effectively for his party, why did the APC lose decisively in his own backyard—Bende LGA?
“At this point, we challenge Senator Kalu to produce his unit and ward results in the last Governorship and Presidential elections.
“The results from INEC show clearly that the APC lost woefully both in the Governorship and Presidential elections at the polling units and wards of all the APC candidates in the 2023 election in Bende LGA where Senator Kalu hails from”, the statement reads.
The government then posed a direct question to the Senator: “If he truly worked for the President and his party, why did the President lose in his constituency while he won in the election conducted on the same day?”
The statement contrasted this with Governor Otti’s sweeping victory in 2023, which made him the nation’s only Labour Party governor. It argued that having now witnessed the Governor’s “enduring transformation” in under three years, Abia people would be even more resolute in their support.
“It would be strange if Senator Kalu has yet to realise that Abia people see Governor Alex Otti as their best political party, and his re-election as a divine project,” Ekeoma stated.
The release also addressed Senator Kalu’s recent political moves, noting the entry of his younger brother, Mascot Kalu, into the 2027 governorship race. It reminded the public that Mascot Kalu was the 2023 flagbearer for the Action Peoples Party (APP) and “placed last at the end of polls.”
Concluding, the government revealed that four Labour Party aspirants have indicated interest in contesting the Abia North Senatorial seat, promising that the eventual candidate would receive Governor Otti’s “massive support” to unseat the incumbent in 2027.
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