The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has claimed that the South-East region has unanimously agreed to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 general election.
Kalu said the region was prepared to reciprocate what he described as Tinubu’s support and commitment to the development of the South-East, urging the people to sustain their backing for the current administration.
In a statement signed by Levinus Nwabughiogu, Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, Kalu made the declaration on Saturday in Enugu at the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Women’s Mobilisation Campaign and South-East Women Empowerment Programme organised by the First Lady, Senator Oluremi Tinubu.
The Deputy Speaker, who is also the Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council 11 (South), said President Tinubu had demonstrated his goodwill towards the Igbo people through political appointments and development initiatives.
Recalling Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, Kalu cited the appointment of people of Igbo extraction into his cabinet, including former Lagos State Commissioner for Economic Planning and Budget, Mr Ben Akabueze.
He said: “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 that 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.”
Kalu also recalled the post-civil war promise of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reintegration (3Rs), arguing that successive administrations had failed to fulfil the commitment to the South-East until Tinubu assumed office.
He particularly cited the establishment of the South-East Development Commission, saying the legislation had remained pending across successive National Assemblies before Tinubu signed it into law.
According to him, the commission represents a significant step towards addressing the developmental concerns of the region.
“The South-East Development Commission Bill has been in the Parliament from year to year, Assembly to Assembly, they refused to sign it into law. But when President Tinubu came, South-East Development Commission became a commission under the law. Tinubu is a warrior, a great President,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker further listed road construction, bridge projects, scholarships and loans among the initiatives he attributed to the Tinubu administration, while commending the First Lady for her women’s empowerment programmes in the region.
He urged residents of the South-East to turn out on January 16, 2027, to vote for Tinubu and Shettima, insisting that the region had reached a consensus on its preferred presidential ticket.
Kalu, however, maintained that the South-East would not accept a four-year presidential arrangement when it eventually produces a president, arguing that the region deserved an eight-year tenure like other regions that had previously occupied the office.
“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.
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“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.
He added that the immediate political priority of the South-East was to support the incumbent President, whom he said had demonstrated commitment to the region.
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