Tinubu Deserves Another Four Years, South-East Ready To Support Him – Kalu

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has claimed that the South-East region has reached a unanimous decision to support the re-election of President Bola Tinubu and Vice President Kashim Shettima in the 2027 presidential election.

Kalu made the statement on Saturday during the flag-off of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Women’s Mobilisation Campaign and South-East Women Empowerment Programme organised by First Lady Oluremi Tinubu in Enugu State.

The Deputy Speaker, who also serves as Director-General of the APC Presidential Campaign Council 11 (South), urged people from the region to support the Tinubu-led administration for another four years, citing what he described as the President’s goodwill towards the Igbo people.

According to Bush Radio Academy, Kalu recalled Tinubu’s tenure as governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, arguing that his administration demonstrated consideration for the interests of Igbo residents and business owners.

He specifically mentioned the appointment of Ben Akabueze, an Igbo man, into Tinubu’s cabinet during his time as governor, describing the decision as evidence of the former governor’s willingness to accommodate people from the South-East.

Kalu appealed to the Igbo community to reciprocate what he described as Tinubu’s positive gestures by supporting his re-election bid in 2027.

The lawmaker also criticised previous federal administrations for what he described as decades of neglect of the South-East, particularly their failure to fulfil the post-civil war promises of Reconstruction, Rehabilitation and Reintegration, popularly known as the 3Rs.

He argued that the signing of the South-East Development Commission Bill into law by Tinubu represented an important step towards addressing the region’s longstanding development challenges.

According to Kalu, successive National Assemblies had made several attempts to secure approval for the legislation without success until the current administration.

He further identified road construction, bridge projects, scholarship opportunities and loan programmes as some of the Federal Government’s interventions in the South-East.

The Deputy Speaker also praised the First Lady for her women’s empowerment initiatives, urging residents of the region to demonstrate their support for the APC presidential ticket in the forthcoming election.

Kalu specifically appealed to voters across Abia, Enugu, Imo and Anambra states to support Tinubu and Shettima in the presidential poll scheduled for January 16, 2027.

He maintained that the South-East had collectively agreed to back the President for another term, although his assertion of unanimous regional support was presented as his own political claim.

Beyond the immediate election, Kalu also argued that the South-East should be allowed to complete an eight-year presidential tenure whenever the region eventually produces a president.

He said it would be unfair for the region to receive only a four-year tenure when other parts of the country had enjoyed eight years in office.

According to him, the South-East had waited for nearly six decades for an opportunity to produce a president and should therefore be entitled to the same eight-year tenure enjoyed by previous administrations.

Kalu, however, maintained that the region’s immediate political priority should be supporting Tinubu’s re-election, pointing to what he described as the President’s commitment to the development and interests of the Igbo people.