A former Abia State Governor and incumbent representative of Abia North Senatorial District, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and two others have won the All Progressives Congress (APC) senatorial primary elections ahead of the 2027 general election.
The results of the primaries for Abia State were announced on Monday after the exercise that was conducted on the same day.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Chief Emeka Atuma and Chief Uchenna Erondu Jnr. were also declared winners for Abia Central Senatorial District and Abia South Senatorial District respectively during the nationwide primaries held on Monday.
Kalu secured the party’s ticket with a landslide victory over his lone challenger, Dr. Philips Nto.
According to results announced at the APC collation centre in Umuahia, the Abia State capital, Kalu polled 65,651 votes to defeat Nto, who garnered 2,103 votes.
The margin of victory stood at 63,548 votes.
The direct primary was held across the five local government areas and 57 wards of Abia North Senatorial District.
A total of 72,028 voters were registered, out of which 69,441 were accredited.
Total votes cast stood at 67,854.
Declaring the result, the Chairman of the Abia North Senatorial District National Assembly Primary Election Committee, Chinedu Kanu, described the process as peaceful, transparent, and credible.
He commended APC members, stakeholders, and electoral officials for ensuring a smooth exercise across the district.
Kanu said Kalu secured overwhelming support from party members through the transparent direct primary process aimed at producing credible candidates for 2027.
In Abia Central Senatorial District, Chief Atuma polled 36,935 votes to defeat Senator Nkechi Nworgu, who scored 11,451 votes, while Chief Samuel Onuigbo secured 5,833 votes.
The Returning Officer, Thomas Nkoro, declared Atuma the winner.
In Abia South Senatorial District, Erondu Jnr, the lawmaker representing Obingwa West State Constituency in the Abia House of Assembly, emerged victorious after securing a commanding lead across the six LGAs.
The final results were announced at the APC Abia South Senatorial District Primary Election Collation Centre in Aba by the Collation Officer, Prof. Emmanuel Agbaeze.
Erondu Jnr swept all six LGAs to defeat Dr. Nyerere Anyim, Chief Paul Ikonne, and Dr. Blessing Nwagba.
Speaking at the party secretariat in Umuahia, an elated Erondu Jnr thanked God for his victory and described the primaries as a tough but credible contest.
He said: “Today witnessed the freest and fairest primaries ever conducted by the APC in this state.
“It was very transparent because the party adopted the direct primary method.”
