Abia 2027 Governorship: APC chieftains reject endorsement of Benjamin Kalu

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, Agwu Emeaba, has warned of an imminent implosion in the party, following its “divisive endorsement” of a governorship aspirant for 2027 by some stakeholders.

In a statement issued in Umuahia and made available to reporters on Sunday, Mr Emeaba argued that endorsing an aspirant without giving others a chance in an open contest could destroy the party’s prospects at the polls.

He stated that with the endorsement of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, for the 2027 Abia governorship race, “APC is walking into the 2027 cycle with an early but dangerous tension for a possible implosion”.

He contended that the action by some APC stakeholders “further widened existing cracks and divisions within the Abia APC”.

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The News Agency of Nigeria recalls that APC stakeholders from the state’s three senatorial districts recently met in Umuahia and endorsed Mr Kalu for the governorship ticket.

Mr Emeaba argued that the action sidelined two other aspirants, Mascot Kalu, a businessman, and Henry Ikoh, an industrialist and former minister of state for trade and industry.

“The real question is not whether Benjamin Kalu has become visible nationally, but whether he is the right person to carry a party that is still trying to consolidate itself in Abia,” Mr Emeaba stated.

He further alleged that several party stalwarts were aggrieved that the deputy speaker “was holding meetings, consultations, and congresses without involving Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and the two other governorship hopefuls.

“Those men he left behind once mentored him and helped build the political ground on which he stands.

“That kind of political amnesia, if left unchecked, does not build a party. It weakens it,” Mr Emeaba stated.

He, therefore, urged the State Working Committee of the party to intervene early to save the party from a deeper crisis.

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“If the party leadership wants a candidate who can hold the APC family together and reduce internal acrimony, Mascot Uzor Kalu remains the stronger political bet.

“Alternatively, if it wants a businessman with industrial credibility and a message rooted in productivity, Chief Henry Ikoh is equally a better fit.

“What Abia APC must not do is to hand its future to a standard bearer that may satisfy a personal ambition today and destroy the party’s prospects tomorrow,” the statement added.

Meanwhile, Mascot has rejected the endorsement of the deputy speaker for the APC governorship ticket in 2027.

Reacting to the endorsement in a statement, he declared: “Let it be stated clearly and without ambiguity: any premeditated consensus arrangement orchestrated by the APC State Working Committee and stakeholders, without the participation of all aspirants contesting for the same position, is illegitimate, unacceptable, and null and void, ab initio.

“Such an imposition will be met with stiff and unequivocal resistance.”