Obi chants drown out Ben Kalu’s Tinubu campaign in Abia

A campaign appeal by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid was disrupted by repeated chants of Peter Obi’s name at a cultural festival in Abia State.
The incident occurred on Saturday during the Item Okpi cultural festival in Aba, where Kalu urged residents to support Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
In a viral video of the event, the deputy speaker described Tinubu as the best candidate for Nigeria. However, members of the audience responded by chanting, “Obi! Obi! Kererenke, Obi,” accompanied by ululations.
The crowd’s chants grew louder when Kalu attempted to counter them with the APC campaign song, “On Your Mandate We Shall Stand”.
Appealing to the residents, Kalu said Tinubu had demonstrated commitment to the South-East, particularly the Bende community, and urged them to support his second-term ambition.
“You don’t want this university they want to build for you? 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.
Despite his appeal, the audience continued chanting Obi’s name, drowning out the deputy speaker’s remarks.
Kalu subsequently appeared to question the identity of those chanting, saying, “These people are not Item people.”
The lawmaker attended the festival after participating in APC presidential campaign activities in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He also promised additional development projects for the Item community, including classrooms, roads and health centres.