By Sophia Afolabi
The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has passed a vote of confidence in President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and adopted him as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 general election.
The decision was taken during the party’s Pre-Congress and National Convention Stakeholders Meeting held in Bende Local Government Area.
At the meeting, the party also affirmed the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, as the leader of the APC in Abia State, citing his role in strengthening the party’s structure and visibility despite not controlling the state government.
In a statement issued by his Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu said the central objective of the gathering was to ensure President Tinubu’s re-election in 2027.
“Everything we have come to do today boils down to one thing: delivering His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” Kalu said. “All we came to do is to make sure that the structures we set up within the party at the ward, local government and state levels will ultimately deliver President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.”
He moved a motion for the Abia APC to adopt Tinubu as its sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, which was unanimously endorsed by members present.
Kalu also used the occasion to highlight what he described as the success of the party’s recent electronic membership registration exercise in the state, claiming that over 160,000 members were registered.
He disclosed that the APC National Chairman had expressed concerns about the party’s strength in Abia, given that the APC does not currently control the state government. According to him, there were fears about whether the party could secure at least 25 per cent of votes in the next general election.
Kalu, however, insisted that the party would prove its critics wrong, stressing that although the APC does not have a governor in Abia, it has a Deputy Speaker in the House of Representatives.
On the forthcoming ward congresses, he announced that he had secured nomination forms for party members and urged unity among stakeholders, warning against factionalism.
“We don’t have factions in this party. Anybody maintaining faction is not a member of our party. It’s part of our resolution today,” he said.
The endorsement comes nearly two years before the 2027 presidential election, as political alignments and early declarations begin to take shape across party lines.
