Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, has pledged to mobilise Igbo residents in the Federal Capital Territory to support candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the forthcoming Area Council elections.

Kalu, who serves as Secretary of the APC National Campaign Council for the FCT poll, gave the assurance at the national secretariat of the party while addressing journalists in Abuja.

The Abia born politician remarked that the party would leverage both performance and inclusive governance to secure the votes of Ndigbo and other residents.

On his strategy to convince the Igbo community in Abuja to vote APC, the Deputy Speaker noted that the FCT is home to Nigerians from all geopolitical zones, including a significant population of Igbo traders, professionals and investors.

“I am an Igbo man and also a Nigerian, and I’m part of this government. I’m one of the faces of Igbos in leadership. So no longer can Igbos say we are not part of the administration,” he said.

Kalu argued that the presence of Igbo representation at the highest levels of governance under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu sends a strong message of inclusion and counters narratives of marginalisation.

He contrasted the current administration with previous years, saying there was no Igbo person in top succession leadership positions for eight years, adding that his role in national leadership demonstrates that the Southeast is actively participating in governance.

According to him, beyond identity politics, the APC would campaign on what he described as visible development strides in the FCT even as he commended the FCT Minister, Nyesom Wike, for what he termed significant infrastructural and grassroots impact across the territory, noting that the administration’s achievements would form a central plank of the party’s message to voters.

“These are our campaign tools. We are going beyond posters and slogans. The facts speak for themselves. You can feel and experience the dividends of democracy,” he said.

Kalu admitted that the party had struggled in previous elections due to what he described as limited visible impact at the grassroots, but insisted that the situation has changed.

“No reasonable person can say there is no visible development in the FCT today,” he added, assuring that the campaign council would deploy energetic grassroots mobilisation, including door-to-door engagement and direct interaction with businesses and households across the six area councils and 68 wards of the FCT.

“We will be on the streets, in every household, business to business, selling the message of the APC,” he said.