UMUAHIA — The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has charged members of the newly inaugurated Abia State All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council to take the campaign to the trenches and preach the right message to the people.
Kalu gave the charge on Thursday in Umuahia during the inauguration of the council for the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima.
Addressing the gathering at the International Conference Centre, Umuahia, Kalu said democracy entrusts every generation of leaders with one solemn obligation: to go before the people, give an honest account of stewardship, and seek their consent for the road ahead.
“Politics finds its greatest, highest purpose in the future we are prepared to build, and every office we seek must serve that end,” he said.
Congratulating the men and women called to serve on the council, Kalu said they had been given a place of honour.
He quoted President Tinubu, who once told his son in a personal moment that the greatest honour anyone can have as a citizen of any country is to serve that country.
“What you have come to today is the place of honour, because you are yielding yourself to serve this country,” Kalu told them.
“Yours is a call to public duty at a defining moment for our nation. It is in that spirit that we speak to the people of Abia today.”
Kalu said council members must not sit in Umuahia, but must go to every ward, village and community to engage the people directly.
“Let the campaign go to the trenches of our land and tell them that we took 60 years to wait. We cannot take four years to rule,” he said.
He said the people must be told that the Igbo nation has waited too long to settle for a short-term arrangement, and that the strategic way now is to align with President Tinubu.
“When they go to churches to preach Igbo agenda, when they go to Ohanaeze to preach Igbo agenda, tell them that was an old message,” Kalu said.
He urged the council to tell the people that the Igbo nation’s time is coming, and when it comes, it will be eight years, not four years.
He also charged them to remind the people that President Tinubu first chose them, by not being afraid of what naysayers would say, and by standing firm with the single agenda of fixing Nigeria.
“You are here because he chose you. But before we decided to join the team, he first chose us,” Kalu said.
“He chose us when he started working from the day he took the oath of office for Nigeria. That was the day he chose us by not being afraid of what the naysayers will say.”
“We are standing firm courageously with the single agenda of fixing Nigeria from what it used to be to what it is today, headed to where we are dreaming to see Nigeria tomorrow. That is the man we have come to answer his call, to join hands with him to make Nigeria a greater nation.”
Kalu said he was honoured to stand before the people of Abia State as the council was inaugurated, and expressed confidence that the members would deliver.
He urged them to preach the message of strategy, not sentiment, and to ensure that Abia’s votes would be counted in 2027.
Chukwu Pledges 75% Votes, Seeks Ministerial Slot
Responding on behalf of the newly inaugurated PCC, the Chairman of the APC in Abia State and Coordinator of the Abia Presidential Campaign Council, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu, pledged the commitment of the council to securing victory for President Tinubu and other APC candidates in the 2027 general elections.
Chukwu accepted the responsibility and mandate, declaring that Abia APC had overcome its internal divisions and was now united and ready to work together for electoral success.
He commended Kalu for his efforts in uniting the party, expressing confidence that the renewed unity would strengthen its chances in 2027.
Describing President Tinubu’s performance as commendable, Chukwu insisted that he deserved another term in office. He rejected projections of 25 per cent votes for the President in Abia, declaring that the party would work towards delivering at least 75 per cent of the state’s votes to him.
He urged party members to remain committed and intensify grassroots mobilisation, noting that although the task before the PCC was enormous, it was achievable through collective effort and determination.
Chukwu also appealed to President Tinubu to address what he described as the underrepresentation of Abia State in the Federal Executive Council (FEC), noting that the state’s statutory ministerial position remained vacant and should be filled without further delay.
He further expressed displeasure over the reported replacement of an initially appointed APC member representing Abia State on the Federal Character Commission with a non-party member.
Chukwu urged the President to review the situation, stressing that APC members in Abia were working tirelessly to secure his re-election and deserved appropriate recognition and consideration.
