Incumbent Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Orji Uzor Kalu, has emerged victorious in the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary election, clinching the party’s ticket for the 2027 general elections with a commanding margin over his lone challenger, Philip Nto.
The direct primary election, conducted on Monday across the five local government areas and fifty seven wards of Abia North Senatorial District, recorded massive participation by party members and ended in a sweeping victory for the former Senate Chief Whip, who polled 65,651 votes to defeat Philip Nto, who secured 2,103 votes.
The result showed a staggering victory margin of 63,548 votes in favour of Kalu.
Details of the results announced by the Party’s returning officer assigned to the Senatorial district released by the APC Primary Election Committee showed that the exercise covered all 57 wards across the senatorial district.
According to the official figures announced at the collation centre in Umuahia:
Total number of wards: 57
Total number of registered voters: 72,028
Total accredited voters: 69,441
Total votes cast: 67,854
Votes scored by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu: 65,651
Votes scored by Philip Nto: 2,103
The primary election was supervised by designated returning officers who presented their results from across the various local government areas, including Comrade Chisom Eneogwe Christopher for Isuikwuato LGA, Chima Okorie for Ohafia LGA, Hon. Tony Mezie Nwubani for Bende LGA, Enyioma Ekebuike for Umunneochi LGA, while Wilson Chukwuma Eze served at the Arochukwu collation centre.
Announcing the results on Monday in Umuahia, Chairman of the Abia North Senatorial National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Mr. Chinedu Christian Kanu, confirmed that the exercise was successfully conducted across the district in a peaceful, transparent, and credible manner.
He noted that APC members turned out massively to participate in the direct primary process aimed at electing candidates that would fly the party’s flag in the 2027 general elections.
According to him, Senator Kalu secured a landslide victory after polling the overwhelming majority of valid votes cast during the exercise.
Kanu commended party members, stakeholders, and electoral officials for maintaining order and ensuring a smooth conduct of the primaries, stressing that the committee upheld fairness, transparency, and credibility throughout the process.
Kalu’s victory now clears the path for his re-election bid ahead of the February 2027 National Assembly elections.
Since his election into the Senate in 2019, Kalu has remained one of the most prominent lawmakers from the South-East, with his legislative and constituency interventions largely centred on infrastructure development, education, industrialisation, youth empowerment, and regional economic growth.
As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Privatization and Chairman of the South East Development Commission (SEDC), the former Abia State governor has also played strategic roles in attracting federal projects and investments to the South-East region.
Across Abia North Senatorial District, Kalu has facilitated the construction and rehabilitation of more than 160 rural roads linking communities in Arochukwu, Ohafia, Isuikwuato, Umunneochi, and Bende Local Government Areas.
The road projects have reportedly improved transportation, expanded access to rural markets, and reduced post-harvest losses for farmers in agrarian communities.
In the area of rural electrification and security, solar-powered street lights have been installed in over 150 communities across the district, boosting commercial activities and improving security in affected areas.
Kalu has also championed industrial and economic initiatives within the zone, including the establishment of cashew processing and tricycle assembly plants in Igbere, creating employment opportunities for youths and local residents.
His office also facilitated investments in renewable energy, agriculture, and manufacturing sectors aimed at stimulating economic activities across the region.
Under his leadership at the South East Development Commission, the commission secured a ₦140 billion budgetary allocation targeted at critical infrastructure, healthcare, and education projects across the South-East geopolitical zone.
Education has also remained a major pillar of his constituency interventions, with the senator facilitating the construction and renovation of schools, classroom blocks, libraries, and science laboratories across Abia North.
Thousands of students have equally benefited from scholarships, bursaries, educational materials, and sponsorship programmes facilitated through initiatives linked to his foundation.
On empowerment, the senator has distributed grants, tricycles, motorcycles, sewing machines, generators, laptops, and agricultural inputs to women, youths, artisans, and farmers across the district as part of efforts aimed at promoting self-reliance and reducing unemployment.
