Igbere Community Echoes Aka Atọ- Endorses Ben Kalu for Third Term

I have witnessed numerous political endorsements, but i have also seen moments when a community simply refuses to stage-manage its emotions.

What happened in Igbere yesterday belongs firmly in the second category.

No amount of logistics or political planning could have easily manufacture the kind of reception that welcomed Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu in Igbere yesterday as he continued his ward to ward consultation, women waxed and danced a melodious song of both endorsements and solidarity for continuity, chanting “Aka Ato” (third term), elders turning out with walking sticks, and youths dancing with an energy that appears spontaneous rather than choreographed.

This Was More Than a Courtesy Visit, it was obvious and we hear them very loud and clear , Igbere wants continuity

In politics ward-to-ward consultations are often viewed as routine political engagements. Politicians visit, communities receive them, speeches are made and everyone returns home. But the reception in Igbere carried a different character, the atmosphere and the joy.

Rather than simply receiving Kalu, men and women, elders, Ndi Eze of the community openly expressed support for his return to the House of Representatives in 2027.

For we the supporters of the Deputy Speaker, that reception represents an important political signal: that the conversation about a third term is increasingly being driven not only by the politician himself but also by voices within his constituency.

And that distinction matters.

It is one thing for a politician to ask for continuity. It is another thing for his constituents to publicly demand and endorse it.

Why does Igbere Want Continuity ?

At the centre of the argument being advanced by Kalu’s supporters is a simple proposition: do not interrupt momentum.

Bende Federal Constituency has increasingly attracted attention because of Kalu’s growing profile in the National Assembly and his position as Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Constituents including those of Igbere community can point to projects, appointments, interventions and federal connections as evidence that the constituency has gained greater visibility under his representation.

For Igbere indigenes who believe they have benefited from that visibility, the political calculation is straightforward: if progress is being made, why change the person they believe is responsible for driving it, they see the jobs, they see the roads, the see the bills, like Oliver Twist they want more from a man who is not making promises but showing workings.

That sentiment appeared to underpin the chants of “Aka Atọ” during the Igbere engagement, a message that clearly reflected as a demand for continuity.

However, grassroots politics is ultimately about relationships between representatives and the people they serve. Traditional rulers, community leaders, women, youths and other stakeholders all have a role in shaping that relationship. Ben has shown he is at home with the people of Bende as he continues his ward to ward visits, the atmosphere is the same and the people thrilled to re-elect him for a third term.

When different segments of a community publicly express similar sentiments, it becomes an important political development worthy of attention.

Igbere’s reception therefore provides another piece of the emerging picture around Kalu’s political future.

It also suggests that the 2027 conversation in Bende is already moving beyond party structures and into communities.

Between now and 2027, Ben Kalu’s performance, representation, development, party politics, competing candidates and the wider political dynamics of Abia State will all shape the outcome in his favour for obvious reasons, Big Ben has done noble , Bende is on the national stage.

As it stands today, Igbere has made its position visible.

The community has presented continuity as its preferred path and has placed its confidence in a representative it believes has delivered visibility and opportunities to the constituency.

As of today, one thing is becoming increasingly difficult to ignore: the conversation around Benjamin Kalu’s third term is no longer a whisper in Bende. It is becoming one of the loudest political conversations in the constituency and beyound.

One good representation deserves another and another
Congratulations to Utabiri Bende in advance