Deputy Speaker of House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has pledged that the South East will deliver over 70% of its votes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
He said this would be a gesture of gratitude for the President’s commitment to the region’s development.
Speaking at a civic reception held in his honour by the Atuma Grace Movement in Ntalakwu, Ikwuano LGA (Abia State), Kalu drew a stark comparison with the past.
He reminded the audience of the unfulfilled post-war promises made by the Gowon regime in 1970—pledges of reconstruction, rehabilitation, and reintegration after a civil war that claimed over three million Igbo lives.
In contrast, he noted, President Tinubu has already taken concrete steps by establishing the South East Development Commission (SEDC), a move Kalu described as delivering on long-overdue progress.
The Deputy Speaker assured the crowd that the people of the South East would continue to stand firmly behind Tinubu’s administration, recognising its tangible efforts where previous governments had failed.
“Fifty years came and passed, administrations came and passed, none of them deemed it right to fulfill those promises made to Ndi Igbo and only President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took it upon himself and said, there must be a platform to respond to those proposals made to Ndi Igbo. And he chose South East Development Commission which no other President accepted to sign.
“He answered to our problem to enable us develop the rural communities in Igboland. He signed the SEDC bill into law and has funded it even when naysayers said he won’t. He loves Ndi Igbo and we Igbos remember those who love us.
“We are promising the President, 70 to 80 percent of votes from Igboland. Let us continue to remain as people that love peace and unity.”
While reacting to the public outcry that the authorities in Abia are restricting traditional rulers from engaging with some government officials of Abia extraction in their various localities, Kalu said the ill development is not reflective of true governance and the wish of the people.
“I heard the cry of the traditional rulers who mentioned he was asked not to come and receive the Deputy Speaker by the powers-that-be in the state, when we were received in Bende, we heard that they were asked not to receive those from the Federal Government, asked not to go to any function promoting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
“It ought not to be so! Election has come and gone. Now is time for governance. Restricting the traditional rulers from coming to welcome those working with President is not the right leadership that Abia state is looking for.
“Those who are threatening the traditional rulers, please, we beg you, allow them the freedom to exercise the mandate of the people. Abia state should be free for everybody to express where they want to belong and who they want to follow,” he said.
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