The deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, on Sunday, inaugurated the Renewed Hope Partners, a socio-political mobilisation group, in Abia to propagate President Bola Tinubu’s development agenda in the state.

In a speech at the event in Bende, the headquarters of Bende Local Government Area, Mr Kalu said the initiative would help to reposition and bring the South-East to the mainstream of the country’s politics.

Mr Kalu urged the South-Easterners to embrace the Renewed Hope Agenda “not just as beneficiaries but as strategic partners in Nigeria’s political and economic transformation.”

He described the Renewed Hope Partners as a “movement of purpose, unity, and national transformation.”

Mr Kalu affirmed Mr Tinubu’s love for the region, pointing to strategic appointments, such as the Minister of Works and leadership of the Inland Waterways, as “evidence of deliberate inclusivity”.

“President Tinubu is a firm believer in ‘brotherhood we stand,'” the deputy speaker said and urged Nigerians to reject divisive rhetoric and resist politicians who aim to mislead the electorate in 2027.

“Let no one lie to you. Chase such politicians away. We must protect the Renewed Hope Mandate,” he said.

Mr Kalu described Abia as the launchpad for the initiative and promised that it would be expanded to all parts of the South-East and the country.

He later presented a cheque for N500 million to the group “for mass mobilisation, grassroots enlightenment, and voter education”.

In a remark, the Abia APC chairman, Kingsley Ononogbu, emphasised that the Renewed Hope Partners must remain aligned with the party and Mr Tinubu’s re-election objectives in 2027.

Mr Ononogbu described Mr Kalu’s initiative as one that restores democratic values and transparency.

Endorsing Mr Tinubu’s policies and programmes, the representatives of the APC National Working Committee, including the deputy national chairman (South), Emmanuel Onyeukwu, said his administration had brought visible dividends of democracy across all zones.

They cited the defection of the South-South governors to the APC as “evidence of growing national confidence in Tinubu’s leadership”.

They described the president as “a good product that is easy to market”. They urged South-Easterners to seize the momentum and integrate fully into Nigeria’s mainstream political and economic structure.

In a goodwill message on behalf of Abia South Senatorial District partners, the former speaker of the state House of Assembly, Emeka Stanley, described Mr Kalu’s emergence as “a beacon of light for the Igbo people.”

Charles Ogbonnaya, who spoke on behalf of the partners of Abia Central Senatorial District, described Mr Kalu’s efforts to reposition the South-East in the country’s political equation as historic and transformative.

Also, Cosmos Ndukwe, who spoke on behalf of Abia North Senatorial District partners, praised Mr Tinubu’s “inclusive policies”, referencing the reinvigoration of Gowon’s post-civil war 3Rs of Reconciliation, Reconstruction, and Rehabilitation, which he claimed were not fully realised by previous administrations.

(NAN)