Emmanuel Ugwu-Nwogo in Umuahia

Former Chief of Staff and 2023 governorship candidate in Abia State, Chief Mascot Uzor Kalu, has called for balance between the construction of physical infrastructure and welfare of the people.

He said that it made no meaning for a governor to be fixated on building roads while the people that would use the roads would be left in hunger and misery.

Speaking with journalists in Umuahia after declaring his intention to vie for the 2027 governorship ticket of the All Progressives Congress(APC), Kalu said that he would run a welfarist government.

He said that while building roads and other  infrastructure, he would also “build the stomach”, adding that he would not afford to see people feeling pangs of hunger and neglect.

“Our journey is not about politics as usual. It’s a call to serve and restore empathy of leadership,” he said, adding, “I’m young and vibrant. I know what this state needs.”

Kalu decried the way Governor Alex Otti has been treating civil servants, pensioners, and  traders, noting that the present administration lacked empathy and milk of human kindness.

He explained that he deliberately refrained from scrutinising the Otti administration over the last two years because he felt the governor needed time to implement his campaign promises.

But stated that after over two years on the saddle Otti has failed to deliver on the campaign promises he made to the people of Abia when he was seeking for their mandate.

Kalu insisted that having failed to keep his promises, Otti and his Labour Party would have no reason to return to Abia Government House come 2027.

He said, “I have given the administration room to govern without criticism for over two years. I acknowledge that some progress has been made under the administration.

“However, the progress remains far from the lofty campaign promises that were made during the 2023 election period. Abia and Abians deserve more, especially for those grassroots people.”

The former CoS in the Senator Theodore Orji’s government, said that there was hardly any form of transparency and accountability in the Otti administration, which is contrary to his campaign promises.

He also condemned the failure of the Otti administration to implement local government autonomy, noting that Abia LGs have been rendered impotent as the state government controls their funds.

Kalu promised that he would run “a government built on transparency, accountability, inclusiveness of progress, a government that serves all and leaves nobody behind”.

He said that having returned to APC after contesting the Abia governorship seat on the platform of the All Peoples Party (APP), he would help in unifying APC to make it a very formidable party.

Kalu stated that his mission in 2027 “is to unify Abians and build a prosperous, all-inclusive state where opportunities abound for everyone, regardless of political party affiliation or social standing.”

“Together, we shall leverage on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope policies to spread the dividends of good governance to the grassroots, empowering and uplifting our people through macro and micro economic systems,” he said.

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