There was a major political shift in Abia State on Monday as hundreds of youths marched through the capital city of Umuahia, demanding that former Governor of the state, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, retire from elective politics to make way for younger politicians.
The youths unanimously endorsed Kalu’s challenger for the Abia North Senate seat, Dr. Phillips Nto, insisting that he would make a better senator than the former governor.
Marching through Umuahia, they made their way to the APC Secretariat on busy Azikiwe Street, where they delivered a protest letter addressed to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu through the state chairman of the party.
In the letter, the youths expressed disenchantment with Senator Kalu, accusing him of turning them into modern-day slaves.
According to the letter signed by Dr. Uchenna Kalu Akpi, Mr. Kingsley Olugu, and Bro. Vitals Igbokwe, the youths, under the umbrella of the Old Bende Political Forum, Abia Youths Christian Assembly, and Abia North Young Professionals for Tinubu’s Mandate, demanded that Kalu be given the “Ayade treatment” over what they described as abysmal representation.
“Because we are not a conquered people, and because we believe in the peaceful exercise of our democratic rights, we respectfully appeal to you, sir, as the leader of our great party, to intervene and ensure that Orji Uzor Kalu is not given the senatorial ticket for a third term,” they wrote.
They lamented that Kalu had been treating the people as a conquered entity, often boasting that the Abia North Senate seat was his for keeps.
According to them, all federal appointments given by the APC-led government had been cornered by Kalu for himself and members of his immediate family.
The youths wondered why Kalu would seek a third term in the Senate while his younger brother was also vying for the governorship under the same APC platform.
They appealed to the president to liberate them from the senator’s alleged political stranglehold by ensuring that Dr. Phillips Nto secured the party’s ticket for the Abia North senatorial election.
They described Dr. Phillips Nto as one of them who understands their problems and would be in a better position to address them.
They further affirmed that, given his pedigree as a cerebral academic, astute administrator, and grassroots politician, Dr. Phillips Nto remained the best candidate for the job.
Addressing the protesters, a representative of the APC state chairman, Chief Uche Aguoru, who is the State Publicity Secretary of the party, pledged to deliver their letter to the appropriate authorities.
He also announced that the APC in the state would adopt direct primaries for the selection of its candidates and promised all aspirants a level playing field.
He urged the youths to remain peaceful and mobilise support for their preferred aspirant.
