Stakeholders of the All Progressives Congress in Abia State have endorsed the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, to contest the governorship election in 2027.
The endorsement was, however, met with swift condemnation from the camp of Mascot Kalu, another prominent aspirant within the party.
At a stakeholders’ meeting held in Umuahia, with participants drawn from the three senatorial zones and the 17 local government areas of the state, the stakeholders endorsed the Deputy Speaker for the governorship.
Some party leaders at the meeting urged Kalu to declare his intention to run, saying the party needed a candidate capable of winning the election.
The South East representative at the Federal Capital Civil Service, Martins Azubuike, said, “The meeting is geared towards consolidating the gains of the last party congress.
“We are here to take voices from Abians through the delegation of 17 LGAs as representatives of the wards, leveraging the RHP and by extension the party in the party.”
Responding, Kalu thanked the stakeholders for the endorsement but said he would make his decision known in the coming weeks.
“My response is going to be made available in a few weeks. I want to thank you for finding me worthy of this position. So in the coming weeks, prepare yourself. I am aware that when that response comes, you will be happy,” he said.
He added that the party was preparing to win the 2027 election in the state.
Kalu also said the party would play effective opposition politics in the state ahead of the poll.
Meanwhile, a governorship aspirant in the party, Mascot Kalu, opposed the endorsement, warning against any attempt to impose a candidate on the party.
In a statement on Sunday, he alleged that the stakeholders’ meeting was a plan to endorse a preferred aspirant without the involvement of other contenders.
He said any such move would be resisted.
“Let it be stated clearly and without ambiguity: any premeditated consensus arrangement orchestrated by the APC State Working Committee and stakeholders, without the participation of all aspirants contesting for the same position, is illegitimate, unacceptable, and null and void ab initio.