If you travel through Abia North today, you will see something different from what we saw for many years. You will see tarred roads where there was only red dust. You will see classrooms with new roofs and children sitting with books in their hands. You will see solar lights at night in communities that used to go dark by 7pm. That is the work of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, and it is why the people are saying he has kept his word.
Since 2019 when the people of Abia North sent him to the Senate, Senator Kalu made a simple promise. He said he would bring government close to the people. He said the five local governments — Arochukwu, Bende, Ohafia, Isuikwuato and Umunneochi — should feel the impact of Abuja. Today, that promise is turning into concrete, into classrooms, into water, and into opportunities.
Let us start with the roads. A road is not just tar and stones. A road means a farmer in Nkporo can take his yams to the market without the truck getting stuck. A road means a pregnant woman in Item can reach the hospital on time. A road means business. Senator Kalu has facilitated the construction of over 62 road projects across Abia North. In his own account, he said he has built 53 roads in three years as senator. Some of them you can see today. The 7.5km Agbaja Nkporo road in Ohafia, the 2km Uturu road in Isuikwuato, the Obi Chima road, the Umu Imenyi road in Bende, and the Amankalu Alayi road. He also worked on the 4km Ukwu Rubber Amaokwe-Item road and another road at Igbere. During an inspection tour, he was seen on the four-kilometer Amokwe-Item–Ugwu Rubber Road and the 7.5-kilometre Amurie-Nkporo-Abiriba Road. People in Nkpa community said these projects were bound to bring economic and social development. When roads come, traders come. When roads come, investors come. That is what we are seeing now.
Education was another promise. Many of our schools were built long ago and then abandoned. Senator Kalu decided to go back and fix them. He has facilitated the establishment and equipping of 70 new schools across Abia North. Constituents report that over 50 classroom blocks have either been freshly built or reconstructed. No fewer than 50 schools in the zone have attained various stages of completion following reconstruction works he facilitated. In Bende and Ohafia, he inspected the renovated Okoko Item Primary School and Ugwu Afia Primary School in Akanu Ohafia. It was not just buildings. He distributed free textbooks and educational materials. In Nkpa, community leaders thanked him for distributing educational materials to over 12 schools of the clan. A mother in Nkpa Ukwu put it plainly: “Today, he is reconstructing our schools, giving our children free educational materials”. That is why people now call him a promise keeper.
Water and light matter too. Senator Kalu has sunk boreholes in communities that struggled for clean water. Three boreholes were commissioned in Agbaja, Amuri and Enugwu Nkporo in Ohafia LGA. He also inspected two motorised borehole projects in Amurie Nkporo and Ngbaja Ndiagbo communities. On electricity, he attracted the provision and installation of 500KVA transformers to selected locations across Bende LGA. Solar street lights have also gone up in places like Nkpa. For a community that had not seen a lawmaker execute projects before his emergence, these small things mean a lot. They mean children can read at night. They mean cold water to drink. They mean safety.
Health did not escape his attention. He said he ensured mothers and children received proper medical attention by making drugs available and accessible, which also necessitated building ABSUTH in Aba. Health centers have been rehabilitated and equipped alongside the schools.
The people have noticed. Community leaders in Nkpa during the 2023 August meeting commended the rural developmental strides of Senator Kalu, saying he continued to deliver on his campaign promises with commitment. In 2022 he was crowned the Best Senator of the Year in Constituency Projects by the Nigerian Union of Journalists and FRCN Abuja Chapters. He also got the Senate Press Corps “Overall Best Senator in Constituency Projects and Human Relations Award” twice in a row. In a nationwide poll he scored 283,011 votes to emerge winner for constituency projects. That is not politics. That is results.
What makes this different is that he is not waiting for Abuja alone. He goes to the wards. In 2022 he embarked on a ward-to-ward tour to give account of his stewardship since 2019 and to get direct feedback. He inspected projects himself in Bende and Ohafia LGAs. When traditional rulers and natives trooped out with brooms, they were not clapping for speeches. They were clapping for work they can see.
Senator Kalu has also used his position to push for bigger things. He led a Federal Government delegation to inspect abandoned power transmission projects in Abia North that were commissioned in 2001 but left for almost 20 years. He wrote to the Ministry of Power asking for the revitalization of stations in Arochukwu, Umuahia, Ohafia and Isuikwuato. That is the kind of follow-through Abia North needs.
This is why, as campaign begins again, the conversation in Abia North is not about promises. It is about proof. It is about the 62 roads. It is about the 70 schools. It is about the boreholes, the transformers, the solar lights, the empowerment for farmers and artisans. Over 1,000 sewing machines, power generating sets and motorcycles were distributed to farmers and artisans.
The people of Abia North know the difference between noise and work. They remember when politicians would come during campaigns and disappear. They remember when schools built during his time as governor were abandoned by those who came after. Now they are seeing reconstruction.
Leadership is about showing up. It is about making sure the budget reflects the people. It is about making sure a child in Arochukwu has the same chance as a child anywhere else. Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has done that for Abia North. The roads are there. The schools are rising. The water is running. The lights are on.
Rubby Obinna
September 9, 2026.
