Ever since last Sunday, February 15, 2026, when the majority of stakeholders unanimously affirmed the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu, as the leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), the enemies of the party have been restless like wounded lions, spewing all manner of invectives to rubbish that patriotic and declarative action aimed at strengthening the party in the state and repositioning it to win Abia for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in 2027.
Although the gathering was primarily designed to review the party’s registration framework and prepare for the upcoming congresses, the stakeholders, apart from endorsing Mr President as the sole candidate of the APC for the presidential election, deemed it fit to affirm Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu as the undisputed leader of the APC in Abia State. The emphasis should be on the word “affirmation” because, by virtue of being the highest political office holder in Abia and in line with the convention of the APC, Benjamin Kalu is already the leader of the party in the state.
Unfortunately, those who desired to maintain their stranglehold on the party with nothing to show for it are agitated. They would have preferred that the APC in Abia State remained rudderless, with the disastrous consequences of election failure, which had been its lot in Abia State since 2015. They wanted to stay in their bedrooms and wait to be consulted, or for logistics from Abuja to be handed to them on a platter before they raised a finger. They completely forgot that there is a new sheriff in town, and the train is definitely moving without them.
Their pathetic response to the affirmation of Benjamin Kalu as the leader of the party not only exposed their shallowness in thinking but also their real intentions, which are actually to work against the party in 2027. In a sponsored article by one Igwe Jackson, the expired politicians questioned why Abia APC should move ahead without them. In their infantile fantasies and postulations, the gathering was meant to strangle the factions of Orji Uzor Kalu, Ikechi Emenike, and Nkeiruka Onyejiocha. Igwe Jackson, in his hallucinations, described them as Tinubu’s generals. Where were these generals when Tinubu scored only 2% of the votes in Abia State in 2023? Where were they when Emenike, as the governorship candidate of the APC, could not win his ward? Was Onyejiocha, as a sitting federal lawmaker, not defeated by an opposition candidate in her constituency? Generals indeed! And for their information, Nyerere was present, alongside genuine leaders of the APC, when Benjamin Kalu was affirmed as the leader of the party in Abia State.
It was unfortunate that the writer could not even make inquiries before embarking on generalisations and accusations, which remain untenable. The Renewed Hope Initiative set up by Benjamin Kalu is functioning and doing a lot of work towards the mobilisation of support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, ahead of the 2027 election.
It was the myopic imagination of the writer and his paymasters to even suggest that the Renewed Hope Initiative is dead. Why did Otti go after that platform when he sealed their office if it was moribund? It is functional and responsible for the massive influx of Abians into the APC in recent times. It has also been used to galvanise the registration of new members into the party. The membership has grown from 2,000 during the time of the “generals” to 160,000 under the leadership of Benjamin Kalu.
Curiously, the so-called generals are all engaged in anti-party activities. Some of them have pledged allegiance to Alex Otti. Orji Uzor Kalu, Sampson Ogah, and others are all working with and for Alex Otti either for pecuniary gains or political protection. How many of them won their wards for Tinubu in 2023? Now that they have seen a man who has the capacity to do what they could not do, they are consumed by envy.
Whereas these people who have serially engaged in anti-party activities are only interested in furthering their political and financial interests, Benjamin Kalu is genuinely committed to the advancement of the APC not only in Abia State but the entire South East. He has dedicated his resources, time, and energy to ensure the re-election of President Tinubu. He has attracted enemies because of these efforts, yet he remains unrelenting.
Let those who are opposed to his leadership of the party in Abia State come forward and present their scorecard on what they have done for the party and the people of Abia. Benjamin Kalu led the coalition of Igbo legislators, which resulted in the setting up of the South East Development Commission. Our sons, Emeka Wogu and Stanley Ohajuruka, occupy high positions in the commission. Whatever Benjamin Kalu has done has been in the interest of the masses and the re-election of President Tinubu, and not for selfish reasons.
It is, therefore, absurd that people whose influence has waned still want to cling to positions that are best left for resourceful, energetic, dynamic, and selfless leaders like Benjamin Kalu. They are advised to channel that energy towards winning their units and wards for the APC in the coming election. Chasing shadows and working against the party will not work this time around. Benjamin Kalu has been affirmed as the leader of the APC in Abia State, and he is more than capable of leading the party to victory in 2027.
