2027: South East Has Agreed to Back Tinubu, Shettima – Deputy Speaker, Kalu

The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has claimed that the South East has reached a consensus to support President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima for re-election in 2027.

Kalu said the region had resolved to support the Tinubu-led administration, citing what he described as the President’s commitment to the South East and his administration’s interventions in the region.

The Deputy Speaker made the remarks on Saturday during 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, in Enugu.

He argued that President Tinubu had demonstrated goodwill towards the Igbo people, recalling that during his tenure as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, he appointed people of Igbo extraction into key positions in his administration.

Kalu specifically cited the appointment of Ben Akabueze into the Lagos State cabinet, describing it as an indication of Tinubu’s longstanding relationship with the Igbo community.

He urged the people of the South East to reciprocate what he described as the President’s support for the region.

The Deputy Speaker also referenced the long-standing demand for the implementation of the post-civil war policy of Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation, arguing that successive administrations had failed to adequately address the concerns of the Igbo people.

According to him, the establishment of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) under Tinubu’s administration represents a significant step towards addressing the region’s developmental challenges.

Kalu said the commission’s bill had remained unresolved for several legislative sessions before Tinubu assented to it, making the commission a statutory institution.

He further listed road construction, bridge projects, scholarship opportunities and loan programmes among the interventions he said demonstrated the President’s commitment to the South East.

The Deputy Speaker also commended the First Lady for her women empowerment initiatives, saying the programmes were aimed at improving opportunities for women across the region.

Calling on residents of the South East to support the APC ahead of the 2027 presidential election, Kalu declared that the region had no alternative candidate and urged voters to turn out on January 16, 2027, to support Tinubu and Shettima.

He claimed that governors and political stakeholders across the five South East states were aligned with the position, although he did not provide further details of the alleged consensus.

Kalu also argued that the South East should be allowed to complete an eight-year presidential tenure when the opportunity to produce Nigeria’s president eventually comes to the region.

He maintained that the region, having waited for decades for an opportunity to produce a president, should not be expected to settle for a single four-year term.

“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,” he said.

However, Kalu maintained that the immediate political priority of the South East should be supporting the Tinubu administration, which he said had demonstrated commitment to the region.

“For now, our mandate is to support the man that has been supporting us. This man has not hidden his love for Ndi Igbo,” he added.