Benjamin Kalu, the deputy speaker of the house of representatives, says people of the south-east region will give President Bola Tinubu over 70 percent of their votes in 2027.
Kalu spoke on Friday at an event held in his honour in Ntalakwu, Ikwuano LGA of Abia state.
Kalu assured that Igbo would support Tinubu’s re-election because he was the president who signed the South East Development Commission into law
“No other president has remembered the promise made to Igbo people after the war like President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,” he said.
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“Fifty years came and passed, administrations came and passed; none of them deemed it right to fulfil those promises made to Ndi Igbo, and only President Bola Ahmed Tinubu took it upon himself and said there must be a platform to respond to those proposals made to Ndi Igbo.
“And he chose the South East Development Commission, which no other president accepted to sign.
“He answered our problem to enable us to develop the rural communities in Igboland. He signed the SEDC bill into law and has funded it even when naysayers said he won’t.
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“He loves Ndi Igbo, and we Igbos remember those who love us.
“We are promising the president 70 to 80 percent of votes from Igboland. Let us continue to remain as people that love peace and unity.”
Tinubu signed the South East Development Commission Bill into law in July 2024.
Kalu, who sponsored the bill, frequently speaks about the legislation and regularly praises Tinubu for signing it into law.
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In April, Kalu asked Igbo to “invest” their votes in Tinubu to ensure his reelection in 2027.
In 2023, Tinubu secured 127,605 votes (5.8%) in the south-east, Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) got 1,960,569 votes (89.6%), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) received 91,198 votes (4.2%), while Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) clinched 8,227 votes (0.38%).
