APC Senatorial Primary: Canada-Based Analyst Hails Orji Kalu’s Victory

*Says polling 96.7% clear sign ex-gov is loved by Abia North senatorial district

Olufemi Adegbulugbe, a political analyst from Alberta, Canada has revealed that Senator Orji Uzor Kalu secured the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial ticket for Abia North Senatorial District with a commanding victory in the party’s recently concluded primaries.

He said Kalu polled 65,651 votes representing 96.7 per cent of the total votes cast across the constituency, in a result that political observers say reflects the former governor’s enduring grip on the political loyalties of his home district.

Adegbulugbe said the victory, which was recorded across 57 wards spanning the five local government areas of Arochukwu, Bende, Isuikwuato, Ohafia and Umunneochi, has drawn congratulatory messages from across the country, as commentators described the outcome as a tectonic plate victory that underscored the APC community’s recognition of experience, competence, capacity and continuity in their senator.

Adegbulugbe, who described himself as neither an indigene of Abia State nor a member of the APC, said his congratulatory message was driven by a conviction that senatorial representation transcends state boundaries.

“A senator not only represents his senatorial district but also represents all Nigerians, because the decisions made by senators in the upper legislative assembly affect every Nigerian,” he wrote. It was on that basis, he explained, that he felt compelled to acknowledge what he termed a result of national significance.

The analyst also acknowledged the participation of Professor Philip Nto in the primary, commending him for contributing to the democratic exercise. His remarks were widely interpreted as a call for unity within the Abia North APC community ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the primary contest now concluded and attention expected to shift to the task of securing the senatorial seat in the main election.

Adegbulugbe, who described Kalu as a nationalist, borderless Nigerian, nation builder and political economist, expressed confidence that the primary victory represented only the first step in a broader electoral journey that would ultimately benefit not only the people of Abia North but the South-east geopolitical zone and Nigeria at large.

“The APC community of Abia North have taken a small step by their vote of confidence in Senator Kalu, but this small step will lead to a giant leap for the people of Abia State, the South-east region and Nigeria in general,” he wrote.

Kalu, a former governor of Abia State and one of the most prominent political figures from the South-east, has represented Abia North in the Senate since 2019 and served as Chief Whip of the Senate during the 9th Assembly.

His return to the APC ticket positions him as the party’s candidate in a constituency where his political organisation has historically been formidable, and where the scale of his primary victory suggests that his support base remains intact despite the turbulent national political climate heading into the 2027 election cycle.