2027: Labour Party Will Stop Kalu’s Return to Senate — Otti

Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, says the Labour Party (LP) will prevent Senator Orji Uzor Kalu from securing another term in the Senate in the 2027 general elections.

Otti’s position was contained in a statement issued by his Special Adviser on Media, Ferdinand Ekeoma, reacting to comments credited to Kalu during an event in Ebonyi State. The senator had reportedly pledged to deliver a landslide victory for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and the All Progressives Congress (APC) in 2027, including producing the next governor of Abia from the party.

The governor dismissed the remarks, stating that he neither sought nor needed Kalu’s support for his own re-election bid. He described the senator’s repeated emphasis on not backing him as unnecessary and lacking substance.

According to the statement, Otti challenged Kalu to present polling unit and ward-level results from the 2023 governorship and presidential elections, particularly in Bende Local Government Area, Kalu’s home constituency. The governor maintained that official results showed the APC performed poorly in the area during the elections.

Otti argued that if Kalu truly worked for the APC and the president, the party would not have lost in the same constituency where the senator won his own election.

The governor also expressed confidence that his performance in office would strengthen public support ahead of 2027, noting that he won the last election largely on voter trust in his record and manifesto.

The statement further noted that several aspirants had already indicated interest in contesting the Abia North senatorial seat on the platform of the Labour Party, adding that whoever emerges from the party’s primaries would enjoy his full backing.

Otti also commented on reports of Kalu’s brother entering the 2027 governorship race, recalling his poor showing in the 2023 election under a different party.