Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, a frontline governorship aspirant of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, has formally purchased the party’s expression of interest and nomination forms for the 2027 governorship election .
The process was completed at the APC National Secretariat in Abuja on Tuesday, making him the first aspirant in the state to obtain the forms . The forms cost N50 million, in line with the party’s fee for governorship aspirants .
“I Did Not Start This Journey to Back Down”
In a statement following the purchase, Kalu charged his supporters to remain steadfast and resolute .
“Today, in a clear demonstration of my commitment to contest the 2027 governorship election in Abia State under the platform of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), I took the valiant step of purchasing the party’s nomination form, thereby becoming the first aspirant to do so and to contest the upcoming primaries,” Kalu said .
Addressing his followers directly, he added: “To my teeming supporters and followers, do not be shaken; remain resolutely steadfast, for I did not start this journey only to back down for anybody halfway” .
Kalu expressed appreciation to party stakeholders, including the Abia APC State Working Committee and the National Working Committee (NWC), for steering the party in the right direction .
The move comes amid rising internal tensions within the Abia APC. Kalu had earlier warned the party leadership against any attempt to impose a candidate, insisting that a consensus arrangement would only be legitimate if all aspirants voluntarily agreed .
“Any premeditated consensus arrangement orchestrated by the APC State Working Committee and stakeholders, without the participation of all aspirants contesting for the same position, is illegitimate, unacceptable, and null and void,” he had stated in an April 11 statement .
His camp has also rejected earlier endorsements of Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu for the governorship ticket, describing such moves as a plot to anoint a preferred candidate without involving other aspirants .
A 28-man technical committee, inaugurated by Senator Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North), has already been established to drive Mascot Kalu’s campaign and develop a governance blueprint . The formal purchase of the nomination form signals his entry into what is expected to be a competitive primary race ahead of the May 21, 2026 APC governorship primary .
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