Abia North: ANPF, Isuikwuato Stakeholders Blasts Chima Agbaeze-Led Group Over Smear Campaign Against Sen Orji Kalu
… as group Reaffirms Support for Senator’s re-election
A socio-political group, Abia North Peace Foundation, ANPFhas issued a robust rebuttal to a recent gathering convened at the residence of Chief Chima Agbaeze in Isuikwuato, which was styled as a “Committee of Friends” meeting under the guise of the so-called “Coalition for Equity and Justice in Abia North”.
The condemnation follows a communiqué issued by a self-acclaimed “Coalition for Equity and Justice in Abia North” after a meeting convened by Chief Chima Agbaeze at his residence in Isuikwuato.
In a statement jointly signed by Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu, Director General, and Pastor Caleb Kalu Awa, Assistant Secretary on Friday, the Abia North Peace Foundation described the gathering as a “political masquerade” driven by “sycophancy, propaganda, and desperate revisionism.”
“The attempt by Chima Agbaeze and his co-travellers to cast aspersions on Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is laughable and exposes a deep-seated hypocrisy. These same individuals, now preaching selective equity, conveniently ignored the sixteen consecutive years the Isuikwuato/Umunneochi axis held the Senate seat without question,” the statement read.
They pointed out that General Ike Nwachukwu and the late Comrade Uche Chukwumerije, both from the same zone, served a combined sixteen years, yet no agitation for rotation emerged until now. “Senator Kalu has served only eight years so far, but his impact across Abia North remains unmatched,” the statement added.
The Foundation listed Kalu’s achievements, including rural roads, improved schools, scholarships, employment opportunities, and increased federal presence. They insisted that the Senate seat is “not a token to be shared like a village masquerade costume but a mandate earned through performance and the trust of the electorate.”
Reiterating its backing for Kalu’s third term bid, the group declared that “the people of Abia North will decide in 2027, not shrine loyalists or pseudo-activists manipulating public sentiment.”
Separately, an Isuikwuato community chieftain, Barrister Ukaoha Ifekwo from Eluama, warned the group spearheading the campaign to desist immediately, describing their online statements as “libellous and an embarrassment to men and women of goodwill.”
According to him, the so-called coalition is an unregistered group “operating only on social media” that has become “a nuisance to discerning minds in the zone.” He cautioned that the group risks incurring the wrath of both the people and the law for defamation and name-dropping.
“Only ignorance will lead some people to want to change a winning team mid-game,” Barr. Ukaoha stated. “Voters understand the importance of having ranking lawmakers whose experience brings tangible benefits to their constituencies.”
Both statements urged the public to disregard what they described as “manufactured outrage” and “desperate propaganda” against Senator Kalu.
“The real injustice is to allow petty personal ambitions and desperation to hide behind the mask of so-called equity,” the Foundation concluded.
Ends…
