By George Mgbeleke<\/p>\n
Abia-North Lawmaker, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has faulted speculations that the growing wave of endorsements for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s re-election bid in 2027 is a response to fears about opposition coalitions.<\/p>\n
The former Senate Chief Whip rather stressed that the endorsements were driven by President Tinubu\u2019s bold leadership and transformative policies.<\/p>\n
Fielding questions from members of the Senate Press Corps in Abuja on Tuesday, Senator Kalu who chairs the 10th Senate Committee on South-East Development Commission asserted that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has no fear of any coalition, describing the party as \u201cpassionate about Nigeria\u201d and focused on nation-building.<\/p>\n
Providing responses questions asked by the Senate Journalists at the National Assembly lobby;<\/p>\n
\u201cNo, no, no. I don\u2019t think a party like APC has anybody to fear. We are the ruling party. We love Nigeria. That\u2019s why many of us are building industries across the country to create jobs even outside government,\u201d Kalu said.<\/p>\n
According to him, criticism from the opposition is expected and even necessary in a democratic setting, but such criticism should not be mistaken for weakness on the part of the ruling party.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe opposition must fight. That\u2019s their job. But our job is to deliver, and we are doing our job perfectly well. In the coming years, Nigerians will appreciate what Mr. President is doing,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
On the President\u2019s recent visit to the Vatican, which had sparked debates due to his faith, Kalu offered a spirited defense, explaining that Tinubu attended at the personal invitation of Pope Francis whom he described as a personal friend of the President.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt would have been disrespectful if he ignored the Pope\u2019s invitation. About 1.8 billion Catholics, including myself, appreciate that gesture. In 2027, Catholics will remember that,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
When asked about the Southeast Endorsement and zone’s Party Loyalty The former Abia Governor further disclosed that the Southeast caucus of the APC had long thrown its support behind President Tinubu, even before other endorsements emerged.<\/p>\n
He pointed to a prior endorsement led by key Southeast figures, including Governors and federal legislators.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe endorsed him weeks ago, chaired by Governor Hope Uzodinma and co-chaired by the Governor of Ebonyi and the Deputy Speaker.<\/p>\n
We initiated the national endorsement,\u201d he said, proudly displaying his attire which he described as symbolic of his support for the President.<\/p>\n
Giving his verdict on Tinubu\u2019s Economic Policies,Senator Kalu praised the President for making tough but necessary choices like subsidy removal and exchange rate unification, acknowledging the current hardships but emphasizing that these changes were essential for long-term national stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m not a politician. I’m a businessman. And this is the first President who ended the cheap money culture. People made money from nothing before. This President is telling us: make money the right way or don\u2019t make it at all,\u201d he stressed.<\/p>\n
He maintained that Tinubu\u2019s policies are already impacting the macroeconomic level, and projected that their benefits would soon reach everyday Nigerians.<\/p>\n
\u201cTinubu is not just a Southern President. He will be re-elected by both North and South because it’s in the national interest. We don\u2019t want the country to break, we want it to thrive,\u201d he stated.<\/p>\n
On his plans for 2027, Kalu while responding to a question on his own political future and track record, Kalu reaffirmed his commitment to serving his constituents and Nigeria with integrity and passion.<\/p>\n
He said that while infrastructure and education have been priorities, his focus will shift to agriculture come 2027.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou must love people to serve them. That\u2019s why I work hard. I don\u2019t even keep a bank account. Everything I have goes into helping people\u2014through roads, schools, agriculture, and my foundation,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
Senator Kalu also urged all Nigerian leaders regardless of party affiliation to speak the truth and focus on uplifting the people rather than trading blame or harboring bitterness.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By George Mgbeleke Abia-North Lawmaker, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has faulted speculations that the growing wave of endorsements for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu\u2019s re-election bid in 2027 is a response to fears about opposition coalitions. The former Senate Chief Whip rather stressed that the endorsements were driven by President Tinubu\u2019s bold leadership and transformative policies. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":4387,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[2821,2823,1411,2822,1143,2035],"class_list":["post-4386","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized","tag-affiliation","tag-bitterness","tag-faulted","tag-harboring","tag-infrastructure","tag-speculations"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4388,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4386\/revisions\/4388"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dailyechoes.ng\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}