The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has thrown its weight behind Senator Orji Uzor Kalu for another term representing Abia North Senatorial District in the 2027 elections.
The group also criticised the member representing Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Amobi Ogah, over his call for Kalu to retire from the Senate.
In a statement signed by its President General, Goodluck Ibem, and Publicity Secretary, Okey Nwaoru, COSEYL said Ogah lacked the political and moral standing to determine who should represent Abia North.
The group said: “The senatorial mandate belongs to the entire people of Abia North – Arochukwu, Bende, Isuikwuato, Ohafia, and Umunneochi – not to a federal constituency representative.” COSEYL described Kalu as an experienced politician with the capacity and national network required to effectively represent the district in the Senate. It cited his record as governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007, as well as what it described as his contributions to road construction, education, and human capital development. “Democracy does not thrive on rotation for its own sake; it thrives on performance, capacity, and results,” the group said.
COSEYL also accused Ogah of double standards for allegedly calling for Kalu’s retirement while remaining silent over a Labour Party senatorial candidate whom the group claimed had spent 20 years in the Senate and was seeking a sixth term.
It further argued that Kalu’s return to the Senate was consistent with what it described as an agreement that it was the turn of Bende Federal Constituency to produce the senator.
The group recalled that Kalu had supported late Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who represented Abia North for three terms, saying there had been no similar call for his retirement. COSEYL subsequently passed a “vote of confidence” in Kalu and urged Ogah to focus on his representation of Isuikwuato/Umunneochi.
