Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has urged South-East youths to promote national integration by embracing people from other regions and reciprocate President Bola Tinubu’s support for the region with massive votes in the 2027 presidential election.
Kalu made the call on Monday when leaders of the Advisory Council of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) from the five South-East states, led by its chairman, Chief Chidiebere Kanu, paid him a courtesy visit at his country home in Bende, Abia State.
The Deputy Speaker said national integration would not be achieved by waiting for other regions to accept the South-East, but by demonstrating openness, hospitality and genuine love towards other Nigerians.
“The best way to be integrated is to embrace other regions of this country, not waiting for them to embrace you,” Kalu said, describing the NYCN as a platform for promoting unity across ethnic, racial and linguistic divides.
He urged the youths to translate their commitment to national unity into practical actions by building relationships with Nigerians from the North, South-West and South-South.
According to him, demonstrating love and hospitality towards people from other regions would encourage mutual respect and strengthen the South-East’s relationship with the rest of the country.
Kalu also called on the youths to counter negative perceptions of the Igbo people by projecting the region’s values of hospitality, confidence and cultural pride.
He argued that the Nigerian Civil War had contributed to misconceptions portraying the Igbo as violent, insisting that the region’s people were proud of their heritage without being arrogant or inherently violent.
“The right information must be out there, and the youth platform is a good platform to push the right information,” he said, urging the youths to use their interactions with other Nigerians to promote a positive image of the South-East.
Votes Remain Currency for Political Inclusion — Kalu
Linking national integration to political participation, Kalu said voting strength remained a critical tool for negotiating political appointments, infrastructure and other development opportunities.
He urged South-East residents to recognise the importance of electoral participation in securing greater representation and attracting government projects to the region.
“The currency in any government and participation in government is votes. The only currency that you can use and negotiate for positions, infrastructural developments in your area, appointments and all the rest of them is vote,” he said.
The Deputy Speaker further argued that Tinubu had demonstrated goodwill towards the South-East during his first term, despite the region’s relatively low electoral support for him in the 2023 presidential election.
He called on the region to reciprocate what he described as the President’s magnanimity by supporting his re-election bid in 2027.
“This first tenure, he ignored us and showed us magnanimity. Tinubu first chose Ndi Igbo and it is now time for us to reciprocate, because if the right hand washes the left hand, the left hand also washes the right hand,” Kalu said.
South-East Youth Leaders Pledge Support for Tinubu
Earlier, Rev. Temple Chika Chinedu, who spoke on behalf of the NYCN Advisory Council, said South-East youth leaders were prepared to take the message of Tinubu’s reforms to communities across the region.
Chinedu said the youths were willing to work under Kalu’s leadership to mobilise support for the President’s re-election campaign.
He added that the council was ready to deploy its grassroots networks to communicate the administration’s reform agenda to young people throughout the South-East.
“If you bring all of us together, and integrate us into your campaign train for 2027, we are going to make sure that all our spaces are collapsed into making sure that the message of President Tinubu is carried to everywhere,” he said.
Chinedu also disclosed that the youth leaders were prepared to organise a press conference to publicly declare their support for Tinubu’s re-election through Kalu’s leadership.
The youth leaders commended the Deputy Speaker for his legislative contributions, particularly his role in the establishment of the South East Development Commission (SEDC).
They also congratulated him on his appointment as Deputy Director-General of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council 11 (South).
The meeting ended with the decoration of Kalu as Grand Patron of the NYCN in the South-East region.
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