By Amah Alphonsus Amaonye,
Director General, African Writers Centre (AWC).
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu on Saturday, September 26, 2026, took his ongoing ward-to-ward consultation across Abia North Senatorial District to Uturu in Isuikwuato Local Government Area of Abia State, where residents of Wards 7 and 10 braved a heavy downpour to receive the former Abia State Governor.
Kalu was accompanied by Hon. Demian Igbokwe, the APC leader in Uturu, Isuikwuato LGA, as the senator engaged residents, party stakeholders, women and youths on the development needs of the communities.
Despite the rainfall, the turnout was quite impressive, with residents using the occasion to request more road access and other infrastructure needs.
Responding to the concerns, Senator Kalu promised to facilitate an additional two kilometres of road construction to extend the ongoing road intervention in the area.
The Uturu visit also provided an opportunity for residents and party stakeholders to recall previous constituency interventions attributed to Kalu since he began representing Abia North in the Senate in 2019.
UTURU ROAD INTERVENTIONS
Records of Kalu’s constituency interventions show that Uturu has previously never had any asphalted road apart from the Okigwe-Afikpo road that passed through Uturu until Sen. Kalu resumed office by 2019 and featured Uturu among the locations for road infrastructure projects.
The Senator had been facilitating different projects in Isuikwuato LGA in the past, including the construction of two asphalted Uturu township road with drainage, as well as the construction of the Nvurunvu Bridge at Uturu township.
More recently, the 2026 road programme attributed to Kalu includes the Ogwahia/University Road in Uturu, alongside other road projects in Isuikwuato, including Ezera Road, Umuelem Road, Ovim Township Road, Acha Road and Ozara Road. Reports say the projects form part of 28 road construction and rehabilitation projects spread across Abia North.
Education has also featured prominently in the Senator’s interventions in Isuikwuato. In 2024, three schools in the local government area, Central School Amune-Ovim, Amiyi Uhu Central School and Umerem Central School, were renovated and equipped through interventions by Kalu.
These projects have become part of the development record being cited by Kalu’s supporters as the Senator seeks another term in the National Assembly.
IGBOKWE: GRASSROOTS LEADERSHIP AND MOBILISATION
For Hon. Demian Igbokwe, the Uturu engagement was also an opportunity to demonstrate the growing grassroots organisation of the APC in the community.
As APC leader in Uturu, Isuikwuato LGA, Igbokwe has been involved in mobilising ward executives and community stakeholders around the party’s programmes and development agenda.
He has previously called for stronger grassroots engagement across Uturu’s four wards and for greater connection between the community and federal development programmes.
At Saturday’s gathering, Igbokwe commended Kalu for what he described as his visible interventions in the area and appealed for additional projects, particularly in roads and other infrastructure.
THE 2027 QUESTION
The Uturu engagement comes as Senator Kalu seeks another term representing Abia North in the Senate.
Supporters argue that the case for his return should be assessed against his record of constituency interventions, including roads, bridges, school rehabilitation, empowerment and other projects reported across the five local government areas of Abia North.
Kalu himself has repeatedly pointed to infrastructure and human-capital development as central elements of his representation.
In July 2026, he reaffirmed his commitment to what he described as people-centred legislation and development projects across Abia North.
The political argument being advanced by his supporters is therefore straightforward: where constituents believe existing interventions have produced tangible results, continuity provides an opportunity to complete ongoing projects and pursue additional development needs.
The decision, however, ultimately belongs to the electorate of Abia North when they cast their ballots.
KALU AND TINUBU ON THE SAME BALLOT
The January 16, 2027 Presidential and National Assembly election will place the contest for the Abia North Senate seat alongside the presidential election.
Kalu is a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), while President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is also the APC’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
Consequently, APC stakeholders in Uturu and across Abia North are using the ward-to-ward tour not only to engage voters on Kalu’s senatorial representation, but also to strengthen the party’s grassroots organisation ahead of the presidential and other polls.
For Igbokwe and other APC organisers in Uturu, the challenge is to translate the party’s structure into sustained grassroots engagement, while presenting the administration’s programmes and the record of its candidates to voters.
The Uturu meeting ended with renewed calls for continued engagement between the Senator and his constituents, particularly on roads, education and other infrastructure needs.
With the 2027 election approaching, the conversation in Abia North is increasingly moving from promises to a more fundamental question: what are the scorecards, and Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has shown visible and touchable account of high performance.
