Kalu says South East will back Tinubu and Shettima in 2027
- Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu told an Enugu gathering that Ndi Igbo have agreed to back Tinubu and Shettima in 2027.
- He cited the South East Development Commission law and an Igbo appointee in Tinubu's Lagos cabinet.
- Kalu also said the South East expects a full eight years when its turn to lead comes.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has said the South East will support President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 election.
He spoke in Enugu on Saturday at the launch of the APC Women's Mobilisation Campaign and a South East women's empowerment programme, hosted by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu.
According to a statement from his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu said the region's position for now is to stand with a leader he described as friendly to Ndi Igbo.
Kalu, who is also Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council II (South), asked the people to turn out on January 16, 2027 and vote for the Tinubu-Shettima ticket. He said the South East has no other candidate, naming Abia, Enugu, Imo and Anambra as fully on board.
Why Kalu says Tinubu has earned Igbo support
Kalu recalled Tinubu's years as Lagos governor from 1999 to 2007, saying Igbo residents and businesses were not targeted then. He cited Ben Akabueze, an Igbo man Tinubu brought into his cabinet as governor, as an example of inclusion.
He also pointed to the law setting up the South East Development Commission, which he said had stalled in the National Assembly for years before Tinubu signed it. Kalu said successive governments failed to deliver on the post-civil war promise of rehabilitation, reconstruction and reintegration.
"This man has not hidden his love for Ndi Igbo," Kalu said.
He listed road and bridge projects, scholarships and loans, and the First Lady's empowerment schemes as further reasons for the region to back the administration.
Kalu went further, saying the South East should get a full eight years in power when its turn comes, arguing that other regions have had two terms. He said the region has waited close to 60 years and will not settle for four years.
Both Leadership and ThisDay reported the same remarks, including the January 16 date and the eight-year argument.
For ordinary Nigerians, the comments signal that the 2027 campaign is already taking shape in the South East, even though the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has not opened the formal race. What the region gets in roads, jobs and federal appointments will be the yardstick many voters use.
What happens next
The APC women's mobilisation drive is expected to continue across the states, with the party seeking to lock in support ahead of the 2027 general election. Whether the South East falls in line as Kalu claims will become clearer as other parties and groups in the region state their positions.
