Beginning in 1999, politics and governance in Abia has been wrapped in dubiousness. underperformance and lack of transparency stretching down the entire gamut of successive governments, even to the present. Governorship election outcome has not always been predicated on the ballot or votes cast but on written bogus results by INEC, until the coming of HE Alex Otti, where the returning Officer, Prof Mrs Nnenna Oti literally sacrificed her life to give Abia people liberation day. It is therefore no wonder that Abia State features the most contradictions in governance.
The APC entry into the political equation in Abia was wholeheartedly welcome. It was thought to be the new solution considering the ineptitude of the PDP leadership that held sway but the party’s sojourn was soon flawed. Struggle for control of party machinery, clamour for party patronage and positions and, deep-seated distrust among the party elite began to manifest leading to lack of consolidation to thrive and make changes anticipated of her by the masses.
However came 2019, the APC fortunes changed for good. That was when both Senator Orji Kalu and Rt Hon Ben Kalu broke the political jinx associated with the party to clinch both the Abia North senatorial and Bende federal constituency seat. In 2023, the two Kalus were reelected for a second term at the National Assembly, thereby positioning the APC as a strong political platform that is capable of winning the State’s coveted Governorship seat.
However, the dream of the party winning the Abia governorship by toppling the Labour Party, LP, Dr Alex Otti might turned out to be a pipe dream due to the seeming and persisting lack of unity and cohesion in the party’s fold. The conflicting political interests of the major stakeholders and the splitting of the party structure into factions greatly weakened the party as well as affected its political fortunes, especially during the 2023 General Election where its governorship candidate, Chief Ikechi Emenike failed to win a single local government area, due largelyto leadership distrust crisis.
In the run up to the last General Election the party in Abia held parallel congresses which produced two chairmen, likewise the party’s primaries. Chief Ikechi Emenike led a faction, while Senator Orji Kalu through Hon Donatus Nwankpa belonged to a different faction of the party. There is also the Dr. Uche Ogah group, which attempted to seize the governorship ticket, but later yielded it to Emenike , without yielding support for Ikechi Emenike. The result was that the party went into the 2023 poll fragmented and divided despite the national party vital efforts. In fact, Ogah and his group unabashedly celebrated Alex Otti’s victory.
Following this, there was a mild exodus of members of the party to the Labour Party, but the greater numbers of prominent members across the various LGs remained intact in the APC, but the leadership question persisted.
Only a few days ago, the former Abia State governor and senator representing Abia North, Chief Orji Kalu called a strategic meeting of stakeholders at his Abuja residence, designed to promote unity in the party. “A tree can’t make a forest”, he reportedly said. “Bring down your tempers, let’s move our party forward”, promising not to allow president Bola Tinubu to lose again in Abia State. In fact majority of the stakeholders unanimously agreed that the next stakeholders meeting should be hosted by the House of Reps Deputy Speaker. They rejected the notion of him hosting the meeting in a neutral venue as suggested elsewhere. One wonders, if Abia APC wants to willingly confer leadership to Hon Ben Kalu willy nilly.
The tone of the meeting is indicative of a political party that is in dire need of self-rediscovery and politics of inclusivity, which Ben Kalu can offer at no cost. He is being called upon to provide political direction and to help plan for the 2027 general election. Besides, Ben Kalu serves as a political rallying point and in connecting the South East region to national politics.
Therefore, there is no better opportunity for the APC in Abia to build a formidable political platform than now when the youthful Ben Kalu can use his federal position to channel federal support and attention to the State.
For one, Rt Hon Ben Kalu has been widely recognized as a central figure in the party’s leadership in Abia State. Take for instance, in August 2023 some APC leaders in the State urged him to assume the leadership of the party both in the state and the South-East region. They acknowledged his position as the highest political office holder from the region and his capacity to unite party members.
Many APC stakeholders have therefore redoubled their call for Rt. Hon Benjamin Kalu “to step up’ and assume the leadership of the party in the State and lead efforts to unify the party, resolve internal rifts and attract more members to the party’s fold”.
The call on Hon. Ben Kalu to take over the leadership stems from the fact that apart from his position as the number six citizen in the protocol order, he is seen as an astute and articulate politician without blemish who can rebrand the APC’s image in a region and particularly Abia State, that is considered a low hanging fruit regardless. Indeed, this is a sincere call to all acknowledged leaders to openly defer to Rt. Hon Ben Kalu and help him build a vibrant and all conquering APC in Abia State
There will always be nay sayers to every positive move in time but when you listen closely they are constituted of very anachronistic and little significance. Benjamin Kalu’s name reverberates across the nation, and Abia in particular for his matchless disposition and urbane conduct of the Deputy Speakers’s office. Who wouldn’t be proud of this man as the leader Abia APC. Just who?
