MARGARETH CHIDERA
ABIA, Nigeria — Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, faced repeated chants of “Obi! Obi!” on Saturday as he attempted to rally support for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid at a cultural festival in Abia State.
The crowd repeatedly drowned out Kalu’s campaign message with chants in support of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), despite the lawmaker’s efforts to persuade them to support Tinubu in the 2027 general election.
The incident occurred at the Item Okpi Cultural Festival in Aba, where Kalu, a chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), urged residents to reciprocate what he described as Tinubu’s recognition of the South-East by voting for him for a second term.
Describing Tinubu as the best presidential candidate, Kalu told the gathering that the region, particularly the Bende community, stood to benefit from supporting the President.
“President Tinubu has remembered us. He has remembered the South-East. He has remembered Bende. The only way to say thank you is to vote him for a second time,” he said.
However, rather than respond positively to his appeal, members of the audience broke into repeated chants of “Obi! Obi!! Obi!!!”, expressing support for the opposition presidential candidate.
In a video of the incident which has circulated widely on social media, Kalu attempted to address the crowd in Igbo language and persuade them to reconsider their response, but the chants continued.
The situation became more dramatic when a woman in the audience seized the microphone and began chanting “Kererenke!”, prompting an enthusiastic response of “Obi!” from the crowd.
The expression has become a popular slogan among supporters of Obi in the South-East.
An event organiser subsequently intervened, retrieved the microphone from the woman and asked her to leave the podium.
Kalu also attempted to counter the chants by introducing “On Your Mandate We Shall Stand”, a campaign song associated with Tinubu.
His intervention, however, failed to displace the chants as the crowd continued shouting Obi’s name.
At another point, the Deputy Speaker appealed to the audience by drawing attention to a proposed federal university for the community.
“You don’t want this university they want to build for you?” he asked.
He also reiterated that Tinubu had remembered the South-East and Bende, but the audience continued expressing support for Obi.
Apparently reacting to the persistent chants, Kalu jokingly remarked: “These people are not Item people.”
The Deputy Speaker attended the festival after participating in APC presidential campaign activities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
The incident comes as political activities gather momentum ahead of the 2027 general elections, with the APC seeking to strengthen its support base in the South-East, where Obi enjoyed substantial electoral backing in the 2023 presidential election.
Although the reaction at the festival does not establish the voting preferences of the wider Abia electorate, the episode highlights the political challenge facing the ruling party as it seeks to translate its regional political alliances and federal government development promises into popular electoral support.
