Women in Ohafia Local Government Area of Abia State Wednesday staged a protest against Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, representing Abia North Senatorial District.
During the protest, the demonstrators sang provocative death chants and displayed placards bearing inscriptions such as “OUK, leave us alone,” “Enough is enough,” “Ohafia stands united,” “You cannot silence the voice of Ohafia,” “Show us your senatorial projects in Ohafia LGA,” and “Divide and rule tactics have ended.”
It was gathered that the protest stemmed from an earlier declaration by the Ohafia Youth Association (OYA), which reportedly declared the lawmaker persona non grata over allegations that he referred to Ohafia as an “Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB)” during the 2023 Abia North Senatorial election.
The youth group, led by its chairman, Obasi Kalu Obasi, and secretary, Onyekachi Uduma, was said to have accused the former Abia State governor of branding Ohafia an “IPOB zone”, a label which reportedly triggered heavy security presence, voter intimidation, and mass disenfranchisement during the 2023 polls.
Chika Nnate, the youth group’s Public Relations Officer, while speaking to journalists at the Zone 9 Police Headquarters in Umuahia, where the group had been invited following a petition written by the senator accusing them of cyberbullying, alleged that the IPOB designation discouraged thousands of eligible voters from participating in the election.
“The biggest ward in Abia North, Isiama Ward, did not record a single vote, yet results were announced in places where it favoured him,” Nnate claimed.
He further alleged that more than 150,000 residents were unable to vote due to security concerns arising from the label.
“What we are saying is simple: you cannot label us an IPOB zone and then come back to campaign in our land,” Nnate said, questioning the senator’s renewed political engagement with the area as the 2027 election approaches.
Beyond electoral grievances, the youth association accused the senator of neglecting the community in terms of development.
“We do not have a single visible project from Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in the whole of Ohafia, no road up to one kilometre, no empowerment, no meaningful support,” Nnate added.
Following the persona non grata declaration, Kalu petitioned the Ohafia Youth Association to the Zone 9 Command of the Nigeria Police Force.
Members of the association reportedly honoured an invitation to the police headquarters last week.
However, tensions heightened when they returned in larger numbers, accompanied by elderly men and women who insisted their position remained unchanged.
A meeting reportedly scheduled between the senator and youth leaders was not held as Kalu was said not to be present at the venue.
Police authorities reportedly advised the protesters to return to Ohafia, assuring them that a new date would be communicated for a fresh meeting.
The youths, however, insisted they had already honoured invitations to Zone 9 twice and would not return again, especially after alleging they were teargassed during their latest visit.
They maintained that they remain open to dialogue, but only if any future engagement is held in Ohafia rather than in Umuahia.
Meanwhile, Kalu’s camp rejected the allegations in their entirety, describing the protest as the action of a narrow interest group rather than a reflection of the collective will of Ohafia or Abia North residents.
A statement from his camp claimed that the senator’s record of representation, constituency engagement, and legislative advocacy continues to resonate across the district, despite what it described as attempts to politicise ethnic and security issues.
