Reps Deputy Speaker Vows to Unseat Otti, Says APC Will Take Over Abia in 2027

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has declared that the All Progressives Congress (APC) is determined to democratically unseat Governor Alex Otti and the Labour Party-led government in Abia State during the 2027 general elections.

Speaking at a rally of party members held on Sunday evening at Abia Hotel, Umuahia, Kalu said the APC was fully mobilised to reclaim the state and ensure President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s re-election.

The event, which attracted party faithful from all 17 local government areas of the state who arrived in over 100 buses, was a precursor to the party’s grand rally scheduled for December 29, 2025.

Kalu described the rally as a preparatory step toward the larger December event, which he said would demonstrate APC’s growing strength in Abia. “We have come to take over, and there is no going back. APC will take over Abia State so that what comes from Abuja will be more impactful,” he declared.

He added that President Tinubu was monitoring the rally and was impressed by the large turnout of supporters. “Make sure you are captured on video,” he told attendees, “so that when the time of reckoning comes, your efforts will be recognised.”

The Deputy Speaker also hinted that President Tinubu would visit Abia in December, following the president’s postponed trip to the state last Friday, when the Minister of Works, David Umahi, represented him.

Criticising the performance of the Otti administration, Kalu said that although the governor had made progress, “Abia needs to do more with its N38–N40 billion monthly allocation.” He argued that previous governors, Senator Theodore Orji and Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, achieved more with lesser funds.

However, Governor Otti’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr. Ferdinand Ekeoma, swiftly dismissed Kalu’s claims in a statement titled “Governance in Abia: Benjamin Kalu Needs Tutorial More Than He Needs a Microphone.”

Ekeoma described the allegations as “spurious and uninformed,” noting that the state’s total allocation for the first eight months of 2025 stood at N125 billion far below Kalu’s claims.

He explained that the current high exchange rate and inflation had eroded the real value of funds available to states. “A project that cost N1 billion in 2022 now costs nearly N4 billion,” he said.

Ekeoma also highlighted key reforms under Otti’s administration, including an increase in the minimum wage from N30,000 to between N70,000 and N74,000, and the expansion of the state’s civil service from 31,000 to over 67,000 verified workers, excluding 5,349 newly recruited teachers.

He accused Kalu of keeping silent during previous administrations when “tens of thousands of Abia workers were oppressed and abandoned under the guise of being non-core civil servants.”

The exchange between Kalu and Ekeoma underscores the rising political tension in Abia as the countdown to the 2027 general elections begins.