The lawmaker representing Abia North Senatorial District and former Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, on Saturday led over 4,000 registered card carrying members of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in his Igbere Ward A, Bende North Local Government Area of Abia State, to participate in the party’s presidential primary election in support of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
The nationwide presidential primary, held across the 8,809 wards in the country, is part of the APC’s process to nominate its presidential candidate for the 2027 general election through the direct primary system adopted by the party’s national leadership.
The APC primary elections were conducted in phases, beginning with the House of Representatives primaries on May 15, later shifted to May 16, followed by the Senate primaries on May 18, State House of Assembly primaries on May 20, governorship primaries on May 21, while the presidential primary held on Saturday, May 23, 2026.
At the exercise in Igbere Ward A, Senator Kalu, dressed in white traditional attire with his signature red cap, arrived to a jubilant crowd of party faithful.
Holding a banner bearing the image of President Tinubu, the former Senate Chief Whip stood on the queue alongside party members who turned out in large numbers for the exercise.
The ward’s Returning Officer, Mr. Ulu Onwuchekwa, while announcing the outcome of the primary, declared President Tinubu winner of the exercise after securing 4,986 votes. According to him, the ward has over 5,000 registered APC members.
Speaking with journalists shortly after the exercise, Senator Kalu, who currently serves as Chairman of the Senate Committee on the South-East Development Commission (SEDC), described the turnout as a clear indication of the support President Tinubu enjoys among party members.
“You can see the massive turnout of the people to vote for His Excellency, Bola Ahmed Tinubu in this primary. It means the election is almost settled because our party has close to 5,000 registered members in this ward alone.
“This is Igbere A, and there is also Igbere B. You can see the enthusiasm of our people, and we are very satisfied with their response. We will continue to mobilize and work harder ahead of the general election,” Kalu stated.
The ruling APC had earlier unveiled detailed guidelines and committees for the conduct of the presidential primary election, adopting a direct primary model that allows all registered members nationwide to participate in the process.
Results from each ward are expected to be collated at the local government level by officers jointly appointed by the State Coordinators and the National Working Committee (NWC), before final aggregation at the national level in Abuja.
To oversee the process, the APC constituted a seven-member Presidential Primary Election Committee headed by former Senate President, Anyim Pius Anyim. Other members of the committee include Ken Nnamani, Victor Udo Udoma, Otunba Grace Titi Laoye-Ponle, Rev. Jolly Nyame, Idris Wada, while Mr. Sanusi Musa serves as Secretary.
The party also constituted a Presidential Primary Election Appeal Committee chaired by former Katsina State Governor, Aminu Bello Masari, with Samuel Piwuna as Secretary and former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Patricia Etteh, as member.
Meanwhile, Senator Kalu, who is seeking re-election into the Senate, recently emerged victorious in the APC senatorial primary election conducted across the five local government areas and 57 wards of Abia North Senatorial District.
The direct primary election recorded massive participation by party members and ended in a landslide victory for the former Senate Chief Whip, who polled 65,651 votes to defeat his rival, Philip Nto, who secured 2,103 votes.
