Deputy Speaker wants S’ East to consolidate votes ahead 2027 polls

By Msugh Ityokura

Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu wants the people of the southeast east of the country to consolidate their votes to enable them to demand better representation and dividends of democracy.

Speaking at a meeting with Abia North Leaders of Thought led by Elder Agwu Igwe Uka at the Renewed Hope Office in Umuahia, the Abia State Capital, Thursday, Kalu emphasized that the region’s perceived marginalization was due to lack of participation rather than deliberate exclusion.

The Renewed Hope Partners, an organization focused on projecting the work of President Bola Tinubu aims to foster collaboration and promote the President’s agenda.

Kalu said “The objectives of this organization, Renewed Hope Partners include projecting the work of Bola Tinubu, what he has done and what he’s going to do.

“The Southeast is outside the room not by marginalization but by lack of participation. My call to the people of southeast is that they come into the room and participate so that we can go with better muscles on the negotiation table.

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“If you scatter your vote as a people, that’s how your dividends of democracy will be scattered. If you consolidate your votes, it becomes an investment that you can demand a return on. This is a time for investment. So, I’m focusing on Southeast.

“If we collaborate, tomorrow, they will remember the hand of partnership that they extended to us that we took. Southwest is extending hand of partnership to Southeast at the moment with regards to President Bola Tinubu. Are we going to accept or reject”?

Kali also projected that the Southeast will produce a President, following a rotation pattern where the Southwest and North will occupy the presidency before it gets to the Southeast.

He urged south easterners to support the current administration and form strategic partnerships to strengthen their bargaining power.

“What we need to do now is support the South West, then, support the North to become President. Then, they will support us when the time comes. Anything short of that is a waste of our votes”, Kalu said.

Earlier in his presentation, the leader of the group, Elder Uka pledged to work with the Deputy Speaker to realize the second term bid of President Tinubu.

He said: “We want to work with you. In the first instance we came, we told you who we are. It’s by the grace of God that you are where you are today and it’s the same God that has a purpose for you. God knows where you’re going to land. We’ve expanded the group like you asked us to. We are many”.

The Deputy Speaker also delivered the same message when he met with another group of women led by Mrs Jane Ogbauta called “Asiwaju Amazons”, who paid him a courtesy visit.

According to Kali, President Tinubu’s administration has been fair to Ndi Igbo with high profile political appointments, urging the people to support his reelection bid.

“In the last eight years before President Tinubu, Igbos were no where. We were told we don’t vote, no positioning for us. It’s politically understandable, but this man, even though he understands politics, decided to change the narrative by saying these are my people, I will give them key positions.

“Imagine what will now happen when we vote. Let’s do away with the years of standing outside the room as Ndi Igbo. Let’s change the narrative. Igbo will vote for Mr. President.

“I must lead my people from the fence to the centre. With hardworking women like you, it’s possible. So, let’s partner.

“Please, as Asiwaju Amazons, don’t concentrate on one local government, have representatives across all the wards. President Bola Tinubu is our project.”

Similarly, Kalu also charged yet another political structure, Ben Okezie Kalu Friends Initiative (BOKFI) led by the Chairman, Board of Trustees (BOT), Chief Emmanuel Onwuchekwa and the Abia State Coordinator, Dr. Okoroafor Ukaiwe who also paid him a courtesy visit to support the President, noting that the South East must not be left out in the political calculations of 2027.

“I want President Bola Tinubu to win a second term with vote and support from the South East. The role you’re playing is resounding across the country. It’s impactful. We want our region to be counted when they are counting the votes that produced a President of a country. The need for foot soldiers like you cannot be over emphasized.

“You’ve shown that you understood the vision, the vision of continuity for President Tinubu and Renewed Hope Agenda. I want to thank you for agreeing to support the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

“Many people don’t have information on what he has done. They don’t understand what he’s doing. It takes people like me to blow the trumpet of the man who’s sitting on that seat from the rooftop. Let the people hear that the President is working hard. Even IMF has acknowledged that Nigeria is improving. But the man in the rural areas may not know because all the news they hear from social media is different.

“I have found the way, it’s in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. With him, we will get to our destination. He was the only President that deemed it right after 50 years, post civil war, that gave us the South East Development Commission. As we speak today, the impact will be felt in no distant time. He’s a President that loves the Igbos.

“That’s why I set up this office, we are going to set it up in all the South Eastern States. Igbos are organized people. We plan ourselves, that’s why we are successful in businesses. The political mathematics is that we allow the South West to finish their term, then the North. Then after that, power will come back to the South, and when it comes, it’s coming to South East to produce the President. Let’s shake hands with the North and South west”, Kalu said.