By James Nwachukwu
In Abia State, there exists no ambiguity as to who bears President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s message with the greatest passion, consistency, and courage. There is no uncertainty regarding who proclaims the gospel of the Renewed Hope agenda with the most unrelenting fervour. It is the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and member representing Bende Federal Constituency, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu.
Kalu is, indeed, an ardent and unwavering supporter of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. This devotion is conspicuous to all who observe him. Every opportunity afforded him becomes an occasion to speak of Mr. President and his manifold legacies. From far-reaching economic reforms to the renewal of national infrastructure, from the student loan scheme to bold decisions which others evaded for decades, Kalu enumerates them with boldness and conviction, anywhere and everywhere.
What renders this even more remarkable is that Kalu does not merely speak of Tinubu in public. He speaks of him in private as well. One needs not be intimate with him to discern this truth. In small gatherings, in one-on-one conversations, on the corridors and quiet chambers where there is no crowd to impress and no cameras to perform for, Kalu has continued to speak of President Tinubu with the same undiminished passion. That is how one knows it is genuine, emanating from the very depths of his heart.
Of course, Kalu set out early. Long before many others found their voices, he established the Renewed Hope Partners (RHP) to carry the message of the Renewed Hope Agenda to the hinterlands of Abia State. He did not wait for the campaign season. The message was his concern just to announce to the people the remarkable feats and deliveries of the President. He traversed community after community, town after town, village after village and local government areas, ensuring that ordinary Abians understood what the President was doing and why it mattered for their future.
Interestingly, Kalu’s support for Tinubu extends beyond the shores of Abia as he has not confined this advocacy to the State alone. He has carried the President’s message across the entire South East, speaking for Tinubu in other States, defending his policies on regional platforms, and standing as the President’s foremost voice in the zone.
Remarkably, this is not new for Kalu. In the build-up to the 2023 campaigns, a similar episode unfolded. His campaign office was shot at, riddled with bullets, for campaigning for Tinubu against other presidential candidates in a zone he is adjudged less popular. It was intimidation in its rawest form, I must say. It was an attempt to silence him for standing with Tinubu when it was not popular to do so. Yet, he did not bow. He did not switch allegiance. He did not flee. He stood upon his convictions.
He later won his election, surviving the Obi wave in Abia and the South East. While the wave swept many others away, Kalu stood firm and emerged victorious, proving that courage and conviction can endure even the most formidable political storm.
The same fire was on full display recently during the inauguration of the APC campaign council in Umuahia, the Abia State capital. With the International Conference Centre filled to the brim, the hall was agog, and Kalu spoke so passionately, so clearly, and so fearlessly about Tinubu that no one in that hall was left in doubt.
Of course, it was not a rehearsed speech even though he has a speech before him. Those present noticed that he veered off his script and spoke extempore to his utter convictions and love for Mr. President. This has been in Kalu’s character. It has been his practice. It has been in his totems. It reveals his genuine love for the President. This is a loyalty that is not seasonal, not transactional, and not dependent upon any rented crowd. It comes straight from the heart.
Now, place this against the scenario in Aba on Saturday during the Item Cultural Day in Aba. Item is a large community with three electoral wards in Bende Federal Constituency. Kalu represents the Constituency at the National Assembly.
The indigenes of the community resident in Aba had invited him to the event, and Kalu honoured the invitation. Ordinarily, someone who was completely exhausted after spending his full day in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, for the APC Presidential rally on the same day with President Tinubu amongst a plethora of other dignitaries would have decided to go home to get some rest in his Bende country home. But for his love for his people, Kalu diverted his convoy to Aba to celebrate with his people.
And amid cacophonous noise from a mixed political background, Kalu still delivered Tinubu’s message of Renewed Hope head-on to the crowd. He did not retreat. He stood his ground and spoke for the President during the celebration. The video making the rounds showed that despite the attempt to drown his voice, the mandate anthem of the President permeated the air.
Among his imprint in Item is the attraction of the new University of Medical and Health Sciences for which the lawmaker pledged continued support and assured the people of its full establishment. This is outside the health centers, roads, primary and secondary schools block of classrooms Kalu has attracted to the Item.
Well, he has promised to do more for the people of Item where he also has more allies and appointees than any other place in the 13 electoral wards of Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State.
From the bullets in 2023 to the noise in Aba in 2026, the pattern is the same to try to silence him, but he has spoken even louder for Tinubu. This is what a true chief campaigner does. And that is Kalu, unrelenting, bold, convinced and loving.
While others whisper their support behind closed doors, Benjamin Okezie Kalu shouts it in the open. He did it in Umuahia. He did it in Aba. He has done it across the South East and everywhere.
For President Tinubu, Abia already has its voice for him, and that voice is Benjamin Okezie Kalu, the speaking Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, and come January 2027, President Tinubu will win Abia overwhelmingly, by God’s Grace and the vote of the people.
*Nwachukwu, a public affairs analyst and social commentator writes from Umuahia, the Abia State capital.
