Rep. Benjamin Kalu, the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, has turned political ambition into spectacle — brazenly appropriating President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope rhetoric as cover for what looks unmistakably like an early, self-serving campaign in Abia State.
Over the weekend Kalu announced he was “strengthening the grassroots pillars of President Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda” in Ukwa East, Ukwa West, Ugwunagbo, Osisioma and Obingwa. But beneath the rhetoric of “grassroots empowerment” lies a simpler reality: a touring show of self-promotion that confuses public information with political theatre. The projects he paraded — the South East Development Commission, a ₦150 billion South East Investment Company, and the Port Harcourt–Maiduguri rail line — are federal initiatives tied to the presidency and ministries, not trophies a single legislator can claim as personal achievements.
What begins as message-dissemination has slid into propaganda. Rented crowds, theatrical proclamations and convoys that choke town centres are not the language of public service; they are the tactics of a showman seeking headlines. Communities report irritation at the disruption: noise, traffic, and the uneasy shadow of hired mobilisers rather than grassroots organising anchored in genuine civic engagement.
This conduct raises two stark problems. First, it blurs the line between legitimate outreach and unlawful early campaigning. The Electoral Act draws clear boundaries around campaign activity; a lawmaker — whose duty includes upholding the rule of law — should not be testing those limits. Second, it cheapens the presidency’s policy platform. The Renewed Hope Agenda is a national project meant to drive economic renewal; it is not a personal brand for opportunists to weaponise for local advantage.
Within party ranks, the spectacle grates. Many in the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia regard Kalu’s tactics as neither loyal nor constructive. Recasting federal programmes into a personal electoral ledger disrespects both the President and the party’s institutional processes, and risks sowing confusion at a time the state needs steady governance.
Power demands restraint. Officeholders must exercise dignity and prioritize public duty over self-aggrandisement. By assuming the mantle of presidential envoy in Abia without mandate, Kalu risks inflaming tensions in a state that has, until now, enjoyed relative calm. Political ambition must not trump the peace and integrity of the polity.
Finally, the theatrics reveal an uncomfortable truth about political survival: those closest to Kalu know his grip on popularity is fragile. He narrowly escaped defeat in 2023 and now relies on the name of the presidency to shore up influence. Calls for private audiences and presidential visits — repeatedly unmet — have apparently pushed him toward a strategy of constant invocation: drop the President’s name at every gathering until association becomes substitution.
Abians are watching. The measure of political credibility will not be rented crowds or borrowed slogans, but who genuinely has the ear of the people and who delivers tangible progress. Until then, headlines will continue to expose the thin seam between genuine advocacy and naked ambition.