On April 28, 2025, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, former Abia State Governor and current Senator for Abia North, called on the Southeast to align with Nigeria’s “mainstream political environment” to secure federal benefits, emphasizing President Bola Tinubu’s disappointment with the All Progressives Congress (APC) securing only 4% of Abia State’s votes in the 2023 presidential election. In a Facebook post, reported by Daily Post, Naija News, and TheNewsGuru, Kalu highlighted the need for APC unity to deliver victory in Abia by 2027, following a stakeholders’ meeting at his Abuja residence aimed at galvanizing party support.
Kalu noted that Tinubu, who polled 8,914 votes in Abia compared to Peter Obi’s 236,824 (Labour Party) and Atiku Abubakar’s 22,676 (PDP), was frustrated by the low turnout despite the APC’s prominent figures in the state, including himself, Minister of State for Labour Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and APC National Welfare Secretary Donatus Nwankpa. He contrasted this with 2019, when President Muhammadu Buhari achieved 68% in Abia North after Kalu’s APC defection, saying, “He has a friend like me and… we can only make 4%. Even me, I can’t even believe it.” Kalu urged, “The South East as a whole has to belong where other Nigerians are sitting,” per Daily Post.
The Abuja meeting, attended by key Abia APC figures like Onyejeocha, Nwankpa, and former Finance Commissioner Obinna Oriaku, focused on reconciling factions and strengthening the party to unseat Labour Party Governor Alex Otti in 2027, per Blueprint and Naija News. Kalu clarified that discussions did not target Otti or his performance, stating, “I do not speak in public about my successors… only the electorate can decide the fate of the leaders,” per Naija News. He emphasized unity, saying, “There is no faction in APC. I am committed to the rebuilding of the party,” per Daily Post.
Kalu’s push aligns with his consistent endorsement of Tinubu’s 2027 re-election, as expressed on Channels Television’s Politics Today on March 3, 2025, where he claimed Tinubu’s economic reforms, like the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, justify an eight-year tenure. He noted APC’s National Executive Committee, via a motion by Imo Governor Hope Uzodimma, had endorsed Tinubu, per Punch and Kemi Filani. However, X posts reveal skepticism, with @IpobZurich accusing Kalu of undermining Abia’s progress and @Truth3Spill claiming he aims to “overthrow Otti” to revert to “dirty PDP days,” reflecting local resistance to APC’s agenda.
Critics, like the Grassroot Ambassadors for Tinubu 2027 (GAFT), question Kalu’s loyalty, alleging he did not vote for Tinubu in 2023 and harbors resentment from his 2007–2010 EFCC prosecution, which he reportedly blamed on Tinubu, per The Authority News. GAFT warned that relying on Kalu could cost APC the Southeast, citing his diminished political value, per The Authority News. Conversely, Kalu’s supporters, like the OUK Grassroots Movement, claim he delivered 300,000 votes for Tinubu, not 8,000 as alleged by Adamu Garba, per Vanguard.
Abia’s 2023 election saw Labour Party dominate with 58% of votes, driven by Otti’s popularity and Obi’s appeal, per The Sun Nigeria. Kalu’s call for APC unity faces challenges from PDP’s historical strength and defections, like 25,000 APGA members to SDP, per Blueprint. His February 2025 pledge that “Tinubu will win in 2027” and April 14 claim that the Southeast has “resolved to support Tinubu” aim to rally the region, but Otti’s infrastructure achievements, like the Aba-Port Harcourt Road, bolster Labour Party’s hold, per Tribune Online and Naija News. Kalu’s efforts to align Abia with APC’s “federal might” thus navigate a complex political landscape marked by voter loyalty to Otti and regional distrust of APC’s dominance.
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