South-East has unanimously endorsed Tinubu, Shettima for 2027 – Ben Kalu

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has claimed that the South-East has unanimously agreed to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in 2027.

Kalu said the region was prepared to give the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led administration another four years, citing what he described as Tinubu’s goodwill towards the Igbo people.

He made the declaration on Saturday at the flag-off of the APC Women’s Mobilisation Campaign and South-East Women Empowerment Programme, organised by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu in Enugu.

Kalu, who is also Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council 11 (South), urged the Igbo to support Tinubu, pointing to his record as governor of Lagos State from 1999 to 2007.

He recalled that Tinubu appointed several Igbo people, including Ben Akabueze, to his administration while serving as governor. According to Kalu, the appointments demonstrated the President’s commitment to protecting the interests of the South-East.

“This man has not hidden his love for Ndi Igbo. During his time as the governor of Lagos State, no Igbo property was taken. Nobody who was a businessman in Lagos was arrested. Mr Ben Akabueze was an Igbo man whom he brought into his cabinet as governor. It has never happened before. I hope we will reciprocate his kind gestures to Ndi Igbo. We must do so this time,” he said.

The Deputy Speaker also accused successive administrations of neglecting the South-East by failing to fulfil the post-civil war promise of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (3Rs).

He described Tinubu’s signing of the South-East Development Commission Bill into law as evidence of the President’s commitment to addressing the region’s longstanding challenges.

Kalu said successive National Assemblies had been unable to secure approval for the legislation despite several attempts.

“Government after government, but they ignored us. Administration after administration, they ignored the Igbo, and we were waiting and asking, when will the messiah come to save the Igbo? Then came a man who loves the Igbo from his heart,” he said.

He further listed road construction, bridge projects, scholarships and loans among the Federal Government’s interventions in the region.

Kalu also commended the First Lady for her women’s empowerment initiatives and urged South-East residents to vote for Tinubu and Shettima in the presidential election scheduled for January 16, 2027.

“To this end, I am appealing to Ndi Igbo: come January 16, 2027, we don’t have any other candidate. The Igbo are complete. The governors are complete. Abia is here. Enugu is here. Imo is here. Anambra is here. South-East is complete. Ndi Igbo have unanimously agreed that we will return President Tinubu and Vice President Shettima in 2027 to continue their good work,” Kalu said.

He also argued that the South-East should be entitled to a full eight-year presidential tenure whenever the region produces a president, saying its people had waited nearly six decades for the opportunity.

According to him, it would be unfair for the region to serve only four years when other parts of the country had enjoyed eight-year presidential tenures.

“Others have had it for eight years, and we have waited for too long, almost 60 years. Is it fair for us to do four years? Those who want Ndi Igbo to do only four years, it will not work. Just like others who did eight years, when it is our turn, we will also do eight years because what is good for the goose is also good for the gander,” he said.

Kalu, however, maintained that the South-East’s immediate political priority should be supporting Tinubu’s re-election, citing what he described as the President’s commitment to the Igbo people.

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