A potential leadership crisis is brewing within the Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), as two of the party’s most prominent figures from the state have publicly staked rival claims to its leadership, each citing a separate directive from President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
CDA News Nigeria reports that On Monday, Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, took to Facebook to announce that he was assuming control of the party’s affairs in Abia.
Thanking the President for “insisting that the highest-ranking political office holders like the Deputy Speaker take care of the affairs in Abia State,” Benjamin Kalu wrote: “You have always worked with this model… It has united the party more than ever before and we are ready to win elections in Abia State” .
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, a former Governor of Abia State who currently represents Abia North in the Senate, promptly issued a counter-declaration on his own Facebook page. He wrote: “I sincerely thank His Excellency, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, for the confidence reposed in me and the marching order to coordinate activities in Abia State in respect of our great party, the All Progressives Congress (APC)” .
Laying claim to the role as “the most senior governor in the state,” the Senator pledged to work with all stakeholders to ensure the APC produces “widely acceptable” candidates .
This open political friction over leadership control comes just weeks after Senator Kalu denied any disagreement with the Deputy Speaker. Addressing supporters at his Igbere country home in March 2026, the Senator had insisted that the party was more united than ever, explaining that his absence from the party’s recent state congress was due to National Assembly duties, not a boycott .
He had stated at the time: “There is full reconciliation in APC and anyone who dislikes it can move to another party” .
CDA News gathered that the Political observers suggest the tussle may be linked to the intense maneuvering ahead of the 2027 governorship election, where the party aims to unseat incumbent Governor Alex Otti of the Labour Party .
Multiple sources within the party have confirmed that the Deputy Speaker nurses an ambition to run for governor in 2027 . Adding to the crowded field, Senator Kalu’s younger brother, Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, has also formally declared his intention to contest for the same APC governorship ticket , promising to run an “open, transparent and inclusive government” .
While both Senator Orji Kalu and Mascot Kalu have restated their support for President Tinubu’s re-election bid, the apparent conflict over who speaks for the party in the state has raised concerns about internal cohesion as the 2027 election cycle approaches .
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