PDP Knows How to Build, Not How to Steal — Okiyi Kalu

A chieftain of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and a former Commissioner for Information in Abia State, Chief John Okiyi Kalu, has advised Governor Alex Otti to tone down his violent rhetoric ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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‎Okiyi Kalu also urged Governor Otti to caution his aides against making utterances capable of dividing the state, stressing that every Abian, irrespective of political affiliation, is free to contest any position.
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‎Addressing newsmen on Saturday after a PDP stakeholders’ engagement held in Umuahia, Okiyi Kalu, who was flanked by other party faithful, said it was unnecessary to ask people to write their will. He recalled that when the PDP was in power, Governor Otti campaigned in Abia in 2015, 2019 and 2023, noting that no life was lost to election violence.
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‎According to him, the PDP provided a peaceful environment devoid of threats, and called on Governor Otti to call to order those working with him.
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‎“I understand they are issuing those threats because they are panicking. Now they can see that politics is not done on social media. It is on the ground. And on the ground in Abia State is where you find the members of the People’s Democratic Party. Nobody wrote a will throughout the time PDP held sway in this state, and not even one Abian lost his life as a result of election,” he said.
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‎Speaking on the 2027 elections and the chances of the PDP, Okiyi Kalu said the meeting was aimed at encouraging party faithful to be more united and focused. He stressed that if members close ranks and remain resolute, they will clinch power in 2027.
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‎Okiyi Kalu reiterated that Abia PDP is on ground, insisting that the party will field candidates for all positions in the 2027 elections, including the presidency, governorship, Senate, House of Representatives, and State House of Assembly.
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‎“So for us as a party, what we have done today by inviting everyone to this stakeholders’ meeting is to brief them on the outcome of the election convention held in Abuja. Some of the stakeholders you see today were not in Abuja. We have briefed them on where the party is at the moment, where it is going, and of course to prepare our members for the task ahead,” he said.
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‎Okiyi Kalu maintained that the PDP is now more formidable, maintaining that no election can be won in Abia State without the PDP.
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‎“You cannot win election in this state without PDP. What happened before happened because PDP members abandoned their party for whatever reason. But we are ready to accept everyone, to be reconciled with everyone, to give them the platform that delivers results that people can see, not a platform of criminals,” he said.
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‎“We believe in our people, in PDP. We consider them the major beneficiaries of everything we do as a political party because we say that power belongs to the people. So we have come to talk to the people, to say to them that the time has come and the time is now for us to organise at all levels in preparation for the 2027 elections from the presidency to the last position.”
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‎He expressed confidence that the PDP will emerge victorious in 2027, reiterating that no other party knows how to win elections in Abia State apart from the PDP. “We will win and we will deliver great results for the people,” he added.
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‎Okiyi Kalu also contended that federal allocations to the state have improved tremendously compared to when the PDP was in power.
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‎“If you look at what we are seeing today, the state government receives at least N60 billion monthly as inflow. When we were in government, we delivered substantial results with N3 to N4 billion a month. And as of today, it is still the first and only flyover that we did with the monthly four billion that exists in the state. There is no other flyover. I think they are waiting for us to come back,” he said.
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‎Okiyi Kalu assured Abians that the PDP is coming back in 2027 to deliver more dividends of democracy, including constructing a flyover at Waterside, Aba, and another at Isi Gate, Umuahia. “PDP knows how to build and not how to steal,” he said.