The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu has declared that the Igbo community within the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) of Abuja will vote massively for the candidates of All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 21 Area Councils election.
Kalu expressed the optimism while addressing the press after the inauguration of the 138 member APC National Campaign Council for FCT Election by the national chairman, Professor Nentawe Yilwatda at the national headquarters of the party in Abuja on Friday.
The Deputy Speaker who serves as the Secretary of the Council said that the administration of the President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has pursued an all-inclusive government to make the Igbo and indeed, every Nigerian vote for the APC during the election.
He also stated that the infrastructure drive of the administration championed by the Minister of FCT, Chief Nyesom Wike has added impetus to the party’s campaigns.
Kalu said that with the visible evidence of the impact of the government within the FCT, the party will no longer struggle to win elections.
He said: “FCT is the melting point of the entire population of Nigeria, from all geo-political zones. A lot of Igbo are living here; to do business and also to make their investments as residents.
“I am an Igbo man, and also a Nigerian, and I am a part of this government. I am one of the faces of Igbo in leadership, so, no longer can the Igbo say we are not part of the administration. This did not happen in the previous administration. If you look at the succession leadership of the country, for 8 years, there was no Igbo person there, now they see me everyday participating in the governance of this country, and I know, that is a big message to my people, that they are not alienated, that they are not marginalized out of the current government. That is a campaign tool already for being in this administration, but suffice that to say that this administration has made a huge impact in the FCT.
“Under the government of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, there is a great difference from what it used to be and what it is at the moment. I want to also thank the FCT Minister, Wike, who has done tremendously well in not just impacting the urban areas of FCT, but making governance to be felt even at the grassroots. That is our campaign tool, that is what we are taking to the market. We are taking it beyond the posters. We are taking it beyond radio jingles. We are taking it beyond campaign slogans, into the FCT. We are saying the fact speaks for itself. You can feel our development, you can touch and experience what we have brought as dividends of democracy, so, there is going to be less jobs for us to do.
“Yes we struggled in the times past, because there were no visible evidence of the impact of the government within the FCT, but no reasonable person can say the same thing currently. So, we are here to convince our people that the government that has done this for the people of the FCT and the residents, that they are charged to do it more if given the opportunity to provide leadership in the six (6) area councils of the FCT and in the 68 council membership of the FCT. We are ready.
“I am the Secretary of this campaign council, and I can assure you that we will bring the energy of the young minds; the innovative mindedness of the young people to push the agenda to the grassroots. We will be on the streets, be in every household, we will go door-to-door, business-to-business to sell the message of APC. It will no longer be mentioned that APC lost the election in Abuja, that was in the times past. We are about rewriting history. And my people, that I love so much, my Igbo people, that I love and who love me, will not allow me to be shamed knowing fully well that I am at the helm of affairs to make sure that the bulk votes of the Igbo communities in Abuja, that I will harvest them for the greatest party within the black race, that is called the APC. So, I am ready to bring my brothers.
“If you look around, you will see a lot of my brothers are joining thing, City Boy Movement, Renewed Hope Partners, Renewed Hope Ambassadors, all of them we are going to come together, collaborate to make sure we deliver the FCT.”