Repeated chants of Peter Obi’s name followed Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu’s call for support for President Bola Tinubu’s 2027 bid at a festival in Abia State, highlighting competing political messages ahead of Nigeria’s next election.
Footage published by Premium Times captures Kalu addressing people at the Item Okpi festival and urging them to back Tinubu. The crowd repeatedly chanted Obi’s name during Kalu’s remarks, according to the footage. TheCable also reported the exchange.
“Tinubu will do more for Abia. Vote for Tinubu in 2027. He is the best for Nigeria,” Kalu said, according to Premium Times. The outlet published the footage and reported his remarks.
Kalu’s National Assembly profile identifies him as an All Progressives Congress (APC) member representing Bende Federal Constituency and records his position as deputy speaker. Obi is seeking the presidency under the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC): the party says a special convention affirmed him as its presidential candidate and Rabiu Kwankwaso as its vice-presidential candidate for 2027.
The festival exchange offers a glimpse of one audience’s response to a campaign appeal. It does not establish voter sentiment across Abia State or the wider South-East. The footage shows repeated chants, but the supplied reports give no crowd count or polling evidence.
EconoTimes has previously examined Obi’s 2023 vote total as a baseline for the 2027 race. That earlier coverage noted that his vote total does not forecast his support after changing parties.
Nigeria’s Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has scheduled the presidential and National Assembly elections for Jan. 16, 2027.
