Alex Otti Pledges Support for Labour Party Candidate to Challenge Orji Kalu in 2027
Abia State Governor Alex Otti has declared his backing for the Labour Party (LP) candidate in Abia North, aiming to defeat incumbent Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in the 2027 elections.
The governor’s remarks came in response to recent statements by Kalu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who vowed to reclaim Abia State for his party in the next electoral cycle.
In a statement released Monday by his media aide, Ferdinand Ekeoma, Otti dismissed Kalu’s comments about supporting a future APC candidate as “baseless and absurd.”
He stressed that he has never solicited Kalu’s support for his re-election or asked him to oppose his party’s candidates, warning that any attempt at intimidation would be a “serious mistake with costly consequences.”
“Threats do not weaken Governor Otti; they only strengthen resolve,” the statement added.
Otti highlighted the APC’s poor performance in the 2023 governorship and presidential elections within Bende LGA, Kalu’s stronghold, and challenged the senator to provide official results from the last polls.
“If Kalu truly campaigned for the president and his party, why did the president lose in his constituency while he won in the same election?” Otti questioned.
The governor emphasized that genuine party loyalty is demonstrated through hard work rather than loud public declarations.
“Those who sincerely support their party do so with effort and dedication, not through empty statements,” he said.
Otti expressed confidence that the people of Abia would continue to back him or any candidate he endorses in 2027, citing the transformative projects his administration has delivered.
“It should be clear that Abia people see Governor Otti as their preferred leader, and his re-election is viewed as a vital mission,” the statement noted.
Mocking Kalu’s alleged attempt to promote his younger brother, Mascot Kalu, as a 2027 governorship candidate—who had come last in the 2023 election under the Action Peoples Party—Otti underscored that four strong contenders have already shown interest in the Abia North senatorial seat under the Labour Party.
He concluded by vowing to give “full support” to whichever LP aspirant emerges to challenge Kalu in the 2027 senatorial race.
