Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State have pledged to reclaim the state’s political structure and secure victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the 2027 general elections.
This resolution was reached on Thursday night in Abuja, as all factions of the party in the state came together under one umbrella at the residence of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, with a shared commitment to reposition Abia within mainstream national politics.
Speaking to journalists after the nearly four-hour meeting, Senator Kalu, a former governor of the state, said the gathering was in line with President Tinubu’s directive at the last National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting, which called for unity and cohesion within the party at all levels ahead of 2027.
Kalu expressed delight over the massive turnout of party leaders from Abia, declaring that the APC in the state now stands as one united, indivisible family, fully prepared to work for the success of the President and the party in the next elections.
He said: “We are more united now than ever because President Tinubu during the last APC NEC meeting gave us directive to go and reconcile members of the party in our States. He knows that we are capable of doing it and we will be very grateful to the people of our constituencies and the masses to join us in uniting the party.
“They stand to benefit more by enjoying the federal might. They can see what is happening in Abia North Senatorial District concerning Federal Government’s interventions and I am very thankful to former President Buhari and the incumbent President Tinubu. This is what the three Senatorial Districts will enjoy when they join the APC,” he said.
On the outcome of the meeting, Kalu said: “The last time I went to see President Tinubu, he was not very happy about the situation in Abia and I gave him my words that we are going to work hard to bring back Abia as a united indivisible entity.
“The president knows that we the leaders of Abia are capable of doing that. We are going to do that and we are calling and promising all the leaders that nobody will be left behind. We are in government and everybody must roll with us because anybody who does might regret his action.
“It is better they identify with the peace initiative and I believe that we will achieve our desire because the most important thing is for the party to be very strong and to speak very loudly during elections. We will be very thankful to the people of Abia for reposing their confidence in us.
“I was a very good governor, they also know that I am a very good senator and that I have never deceived the people of Abia State. I am committed to whatever we want to do and whoever we present as candidate for elections from the House of Assembly to the President, they will know that they will be credible,” he said.
Assuring the people of Abia state and the entire South East geo-political zone of a better deal under President Tinubu, Kalu said, “we have a President that has done first term and will be going for second term. If he is doing second term, Abia needs to also align to the centre because we cannot afford to be speaking differently.
“The consensus of the South East over 2027 is that the zone will do very well in supporting President Tinubu and I challenge them to mark my words. I have been working and I am on ground. Remember when Mr President visited Enugu, I was not there physically but I have his permission to visit all the governors in the South East and beyond and I am doing that.
“We are working and not resting. The President knows that their are few planners behind him and when we plan we execute the plan. The Class of 1999 governors are made up of very tough people and a very good class,” he noted.
APC National Welfare Secretary, Hon. Donatus Nwankpa said that: “The idea of this meeting is to come together for the purpose of redirecting the party and consolidating the gains the party has made in recent time.”
“APC Abia State has the largest influx from other parties in the last two years. We have received over 70 per cent of the former members of the PDP among others and this is the show of their acceptability of APC in Abia State. We have also come today to beg the leaders of the party in the State, starting with the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon Benjamin Okezie Kalu who is the number six citizen in the country, the Senator of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and former governor, Orji Kalu, our serving Minister and other critical leaders who most of them are here and others absence due to one reason or the other, to come together, including our immediate past gubernatorial candidate, High Chief Ikechi Emenike.”
“We want to beg all of them to please, in the interest of the generality of the party, bury whatever individual differences, personal idiosyncrasies, and come together to put the party together. On our party, we want to assure them that our support is unshakable, our loyalty to their leadership is unshakable; our determination to capture the government house of Abia State come 2027 is uncompromising.
“We have also come here to condemn any leader, in one way or the other, covert or overt, in tune with the view that we are supporting the incumbent governor to continue in office. We are not saying that he should leave as the present governor but we are saying that come 2027 the governor of Abia State will be a member of APC.
“We will denounce, suspend and take punitive action against any leader who does otherwise. And we are saying that whatever that had happened in the past, today we are forgiving all of them and begging our leaders because APC Abia State has all it takes to win Abia State.
“We have the goodwill of the people and it is in favour of APC in Abia State. We want to assure the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria that APC is not going to beg anybody to give him 25 per cent, but we are assuring him that APC will come first in 2027 elections in Abia State and that Abia State APC endorses his continuity as the President of Nigeria for the purpose of actualising those policies, those economic and social reforms that he has started and we are commending the genuieness of his determination to keep Nigeria right, we all praying for him.
“Finally, there is no dispute in APC leadership in Abia State, we have no problem with the party leadership in the state. We also want to commend the National Chairman, in fact, we call him a national chairman with the touch of victory. He has captured more States since he assumed office and Abia APC is going to give him victory come 2027.
“We also want to appreciate the supervisory leader of the South East APC, Governors Hope Uzodinma and his Ebonyi State counterpart, Rt. Hon. Nwifuru for the sound leadership that they have provided in the South East. We also want to commend our son, the Deputy Speaker of Nigeria for his sagacity, charisma and development stride. We also commend our host, the former governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu for being tolerant and understanding and offering himself to lead us in the battle,” Nwankpa said.
Those in attendance at the stakeholders’ meeting include the host, Senator Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, APC National Welfare Secretary, Donatus Nwankpa, Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, and former Commissioner for Finance, Obinna Oriaku.
Others were Ndukwe Adindu, Sam Ikiri, Mike Nwabara, Anyim Nyerere, Nze Esiaga, Chidi Maduekwe, Ndukwe Maxwell, Nnanna Kalu, Emeka Atuma, among many others.
