The Abia State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) says it has reconciled with two senior members, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and House of Representatives member Chris Nkwonta, after their public remarks supporting Labour Party Governor Alex Otti's bid for a second term in 2027.

The reported reconciliation comes less than two weeks after the state APC demanded apologies from the two lawmakers and warned that disciplinary action could follow. The sequence highlights an important issue for the party ahead of the 2027 election: how it intends to manage internal disagreements while trying to challenge the Labour Party's control of Abia.

The latest development was reported following an APC stakeholders' post-primary reconciliation meeting held at the party secretariat in Umuahia on Sunday, August 23, 2026.

According to the report, Uzor Azubuike, an APC House of Representatives candidate, moved a motion seeking forgiveness for Kalu, Nkwonta and other aggrieved members. Emmanuel Ndubuisi, another APC federal lawmaker, seconded the motion, which was subsequently approved through a voice vote.

Abia APC chairman Chijioke Chukwu reportedly said the affected members had privately contacted the party to explain the circumstances behind their earlier pro-Otti comments.

However, the reconciliation was accompanied by a warning. Chukwu reportedly said future statements considered anti-party could attract severe sanctions.

The latest meeting has been reported by Daily Post, but Superior News has not independently obtained the meeting's official minutes or a separate statement from Kalu or Nkwonta confirming the reported forgiveness.

The dispute began after Kalu and Nkwonta publicly expressed support for Otti, who belongs to the Labour Party.

Kalu was reported earlier in August to have predicted an Otti victory in 2027, while Nkwonta was reported to have said he would vote for the governor.

Those statements created a problem for the Abia APC because the party is preparing to challenge Otti and the Labour Party in the next governorship election.

The APC subsequently gave the two lawmakers a 14-day ultimatum to apologise and warned of possible disciplinary measures.

The reported reconciliation therefore represents a shift from confrontation toward internal settlement, although the chairman's warning indicates that the party has not abandoned its expectation of loyalty.

Abia's political landscape makes the disagreement significant.

Otti won the 2023 governorship election on the Labour Party platform after defeating the APC's candidate, Okey Ahiwe, as well as candidates from other major parties.

The APC is now preparing for another contest in 2027. Maintaining unity among its elected officials and candidates will therefore be important to its effort to regain political influence in the state.

Kalu's position is particularly significant because he is a former Abia governor and currently represents Abia South in the Senate. Nkwonta is also a serving federal lawmaker.

Their public positions can therefore carry political weight beyond ordinary disagreements among party members.

The APC's position is that members seeking to advance the party's electoral interests should avoid statements that undermine its candidates or objectives.

Kalu and Nkwonta, however, were reported to have expressed their views in support of Otti rather than the APC's preferred political direction.

The latest reconciliation suggests the state party has chosen to resolve the immediate disagreement internally rather than proceed directly to harsher disciplinary measures.

That does not mean the political disagreement has disappeared. The chairman's warning indicates that future incidents could trigger a different response.

Several questions remain unresolved.

It is not clear from the available report whether Kalu and Nkwonta made formal public apologies, whether they have withdrawn their support for Otti, or whether they have committed to supporting the APC's eventual 2027 candidate.

It is also unclear whether the reported reconciliation has been formally documented by the national APC leadership.

These distinctions matter because reconciliation within a party does not necessarily mean that every political disagreement has been settled.

The immediate next stage is the APC's continued preparation for the 2027 elections.

The party will need to manage its internal relationships while developing its campaign against the Labour Party in Abia.

For now, the state APC says the dispute involving Kalu, Nkwonta and other aggrieved members has been resolved, but it has also made clear that further anti-party statements could attract sanctions.

The unanswered question is whether the reconciliation will translate into a lasting agreement on the party's 2027 political strategy.