Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has dismissed any rift with Abia State governor, Alex Otti, over political alignments, revealing their mutual support for President Bola Tinubu.
“He (Otti) is supporting Tinubu. He has no problem with me. I don’t want to talk about coalition. There are many people in the coalition. Otti is supporting Tinubu and Tinubu is supporting Otti, that is my deal. I am not into coalition,” Orji Kalu stated.
The former Abia State governor spoke to journalists on Monday after a courtesy visit to Governor Otti, where he also downplayed opposition moves to form a coalition to oust Tinubu in 2027 elections.
He distanced himself from the emerging coalition of opposition figures, stating that while he maintains personal relationships with key political leaders like Atiku Abubakar, Peter Obi, Nasir El-Rufai, and Rotimi Amaechi, he remains firmly committed to the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC).
“Atiku Abubakar is a personal friend of mine, Amaechi is a personal friend of mine, Peter Obi is my friend, a brother and my in-law, my wife is from Anambra State and you want to take away the woman? It’s not possible,” Orji Kalu said in a humorous tone.
“El-Rufai is my personal friend and brother. So their coalition is what I don’t understand. What I understand is that the APC is on course and I have many triggers to pull out for APC, but not for coalition.”
Reaffirming his loyalty to the ruling party, Kalu declared, “APC is the largest party in Africa and Africa will go with it.”
He also used the opportunity to praise Governor Otti for infrastructural improvements in Abia North, recalling the lack of development in the region since after his own tenure as governor of the State ended.
Holding Governor Otti warmly, Kalu stated, “This is my brother. Brother is my brother and brother is doing well. I travelled from my village to here in one hour. It was only when I was governor that people used to go to town on that level. When I left as governor, honestly, for 16 years, there was no investment in Abia North, that is the truth. But they are investing and I am very pleased.”
