ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The Senator representing Abia North in the National Assembly, Orji Uzor Kalu, has said the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) will not depend on political defections to win the 2027 presidential election.
He expressed confidence that President Bola Tinubu will achieve significant success in the South-East during the next general elections.
Speaking during TVC’s “News Journalists’ Hangout” on Monday, Kalu, who chairs the Senate Committee on South-East Development Commission, stated that the party’s growing strength in the region is the result of consistency, sacrifice, and hard work.
According to him, “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 President Tinubu’s ongoing reform agenda, describing it as a tough but necessary process that will ultimately produce positive outcomes for Nigerians.
“Reforms come with the good, the bad, and the ugly. Nigerians are feeling pains, yes, but these pains will lead to long-term gains.
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“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 further highlighted ongoing infrastructure improvements in the South-East, including federal road projects connecting Enugu, Lokpanta, Aba, Port Harcourt, Bende, and Arochukwu, saying, “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.”
Recalling his early support for the APC, Kalu noted how he was mocked when he joined the party in 2016 as the only major political leader from the South-East to identify with it.
“When I joined the APC in 2016, I was the only South-East leader in the party. 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 said.
He continued, “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.”
The former Abia State governor reiterated that the APC would not depend on defections to secure victory in 2027.
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He expressed optimism that President Tinubu would perform better in the South-East during the next elections, citing growing public confidence in the APC-led government and the visible development projects across the region.
“In 2019, President Buhari got over 60 per cent of the votes in my constituency, Abia North. Tinubu didn’t do well in 2023 in the South-East, but this time, we are ready.
“Our people are beginning to see the progress in roads and infrastructure. The President has opened up roads long abandoned, and he is doing more,” Kalu added.
According to him, although the South-East has been marginalised and “put out of the scheme of things” since after the civil war, he emphasised that what the region now needs is fairness and sincerity.
“I can always tell you that the South-East is not really marginalised, but we were put out of the scheme of things since after the civil war.
“I didn’t start the war, I didn’t fight in it, nor did I end it. What we need is sincerity and equity so that we can all move together and develop the country,” he said.
On the issue of the detained IPOB leader, Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, Kalu urged Nigerians to respect the judicial process.
“Nnamdi Kanu’s case is before a competent court, and it would be unfair for me to comment on his release.
“Justice Omotosho is handling the matter, and we should allow the courts to do their work. Nigerians must learn to respect the judiciary,” he stated.