The senator representing Abia North at the National Assembly, Orji Uzor Kalu, says the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, will not rely on defections to win the 2027 presidential election, stressing that President Bola Tinubu will record significant success in the South-East during the next general elections.
Speaking during TVC’s “News Journalists’ Hangout” on Monday, Kalu, who is the Chairman of the Senate Committee on South-East Development Commission, said the party’s growing strength in the South-East is the product of consistency, sacrifice, and hard work, stating, “we are not relying on defections to win. We are relying on hard work. Politics is about commitment and results, not noise.
“We are on the ground and determined to ensure that President Tinubu and all APC candidates perform well in 2027, especially in Abia and across the South-East.”
The former Senate Chief Whip expressed confidence in Tinubu’s reform agenda, describing it as a necessary process that will yield positive results despite current hardships.
“Reforms come with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Nigerians are feeling pains, yes, but these pains will lead to long-term gains.
“I have already sponsored a bill on social welfare and investment to reduce poverty, and will meet the President to fast-track it. We must show Nigerians that we have them in our hearts,” he said.
Kalu also highlighted the ongoing infrastructure improvements in the South-East, including federal road projects linking Enugu, Lokpanta, Aba, Port Harcourt, Bende, and Arochukwu, observing, “before now, those roads were impassable.
“Today, they are being rebuilt. The President is doing a lot in our region, and I am confident that the 2026 budget will reflect even more development for our people.”
Kalu, who recounted how he was ridiculed and called names when he joined the APC in 2016 as the only political leader from the South-East to identify with the party, pointed out, “When I joined the APC in 2016, I was the only South-East leader in the party.Related News
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“People mocked me, called me names, and thought I was mad to have joined a party that had no governor or lawmaker from our region”.
He informed, “but I stood my ground and kept assuring the party leadership that it would be well. In 2019, I became the first senator elected on the APC platform from the South-East, and today the story has changed.
“We now have APC governors, senators, and House members across the zone.”
Kalu, who was a former Abia State governor, said the party will not depend on political defections to secure victory in the 2027 elections, and expressed his optimism that President Bola Tinubu will record significant success in the South-East during the next general elections, citing growing public confidence in the APC-led government and visible development projects across the region.
