The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Kalu recently sparked outrage in his home state of Abia following his declaration that the Governor, Alex Otti would be unseated in 2027 by whatever means, TheHintsNews reports:
The dust generated by the statement credited to the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Ben Kalu that Governor, Alex Otti would be unseated in 2027 and the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) would produce the next governor was yet to settle as political actors in the state continue to react to the statement in a viral video.
If the reactions that his statement has elicited are anything to go by, it appears the Bende-born lawmaker has chosen a wrong battle this time around. The number six citizen of the country got more than what he bargained for after stirring the hornet’s nest.
At the moment, by hierarchy and political position, Kalu is the highest political leader in the South-east. If anything, his recent gaffe is a reality check that the Deputy Speaker is still at the lower rung of the ladder if political heavyweight from Igbo nation are mentioned.
“This will be the last time that a Labour Party governor will govern Abia State. The next governor of Abia State will be APC governor. I say it without mincing words.
“We (Mr Otti and I) are friends. We work together, yes. But I will not be number six citizen of the country and another party will govern my state. The next election in 2027, APC governor will be there (Abia State). How it will happen, I don’t know. But it will happen…
“APC will determine who becomes the next governor of Abia State. I don’t care who the person is, but one thing I know is that the party platform, APC, will be the next governor of Abia State. Go and write it somewhere,” he had said in the viral video.
While his comments have set off the alarm bell in Abia, a member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South federal constituency of Abia state in the House, Hon. Obi Aguocha said Kalu’s comments smacked of arrogance and power drunkenness.
Aguocha, in a statement said the Deputy Speaker should perish the thought of unseating Otti come 2027.
“My dear colleague, your open vituperation and remarks against our governor, Labour Party, and Abia State was very condescending, denigrating, and disrespectful in every sense of the word,” he said.
The LP lawmaker reminded Kalu that his patently repeated boasting and referring to himself as No.6 in the order of leadership hierarchy of the federal government portrays him less as a leader and more like a man with an open display of “brazenness and rabid indiscretion.”
Aguocha was of the opinion that as far as Abia State is concerned, “there is no vacancy” in government house come 2027 even if Kalu, as of his own right, is nursing his ambition of becoming governor.
In addition, he said the fact that Kalu was elected Deputy Speaker does not confer on him the audacity to declare vacant the seat of the governor of Abia State in 2027.
Not only that, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Abia state said the fact that Kalu is the Deputy Speaker of the House does not mean that he has become the mouthpiece of the people of Abia State or the Igbo nation.
The PDP in a statement by its Acting state publicity secretary, Amah Abraham advised Kalu to concentrate on doing his job and desist from making statements that put the Igbo nation to ridicule.
He said: “Abia PDP is gravely concerned that Mr. Ben Kalu has wrongly appropriated the rights to speak for the good people of Abia State. He is also turning history upside down by projecting a narrative that is clearly false, and must be debunked to set the records straight.”
The PDP told Kalu that his position as number 6 in the national order of precedence was not something to boast about because it clearly shows the ignominy with which the APC has treated the Igbo nation.
Moreso, the party reminded Kalu that there are six geopolitical zones in Nigeria, and the fact that the South East placed 6th and last position was a clear indication that the APC government at the centre does not regard the Igbo nation highly.
Similarly, a pan-Igbo group, Njiko Igbo, the people of Abia State would decide what happens in the 2027 election, when Otti is expected to seek a second term in office as governor.
Its President, Rev. Okechukwu Obioha said as far as Igbo interests are concerned, Kalu is not in a position to tell them what to do, or how to vote, or what is going to happen in the South-east.
Nevertheless, a former member of the House of Representatives, Hon. Linus Okorie, has told Kalu to forget his ambition of occupying the Abia State Government House in the 2027 gubernatorial election.
He said Kalu must realised that Ndigbo have never been strangers to the leadership of the Nigerian National Assembly.
Going down memory lane, Okorie stressed that at the dawn of Independence, Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe became the first Nigerian indigenous President of the Senate, saying after him was Prince Nwafor Orizu, who was the President of the Senate up until 1966.
He said at the return of democracy in 1979, Hon. Edwin Ume-Ezeoke emerged as Speaker of the House of Representatives until the military coup of 1983.
The former lawmaker noted that at the dawn of the current democratic experience in 1999, Ndigbo once again rose to the occasion as Senator Evan Enwerem, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, Senator Adolphus Wabara, Senator Ken Nnamani, and Senator Anyim Pius Anyim all at different times served as the President of the Senate.
In the same breath, Hon. Chibudom Nwuche and Hon. Emeka Ihedioha both served as the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, with Ihedioha ending the 2011-2015 tenure as Speaker of the House.
Okorie pointed out that these great men all conducted themselves with decorum, respect for elders, and regard for process; in full knowledge of the solemnity of their positions as people holding forte for Ndigbo and Nigeria.
He said: “It is, therefore, shocking that with this rich history at his disposal, Hon. Benjamin Kalu has been prancing around, trampling on the collective intelligence of Ndigbo just because he is today the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives.
Following his decision to use his head to dismantle the bees’ house and the flood gate of reactions was left open afterwards, Kalu pressed the panic button when he threatened to sue Spin FM for allegedly distorting the video.
In a now deleted statement issued last Wednesday by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, Kalu said his legal team, led by K.C. Nwufor SAN, is preparing to take appropriate action against the media outlets involved.
He noted: “Our attention has been drawn to a video recording making the rounds on the social media wherein the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu who also represents Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State is said to have called on the Governor of Abia State, Dr. Alex Otti to rejoin the All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“Branded Spin FM 95.3, Umuahia, Abia State, the said video has no doubt generated a flurry of reactions and a cacophony of feelings as we have been inundated with calls about it recently.
“We are shocked by the release of such video into the media because at no time did the Deputy Speaker grant Spin FM 95.3 any interview of such. We have contacted the station and they have equally admitted that the Deputy Speaker did not grant such an interview to them,” he said.
“One is compelled to believe that such a piece of video may have been produced with some ulterior motives…”
Responding to the threat, Nostro Communications Limited (Owners of Spin FM and Alpha Spin TV) clarified that Spin 95.3 FM did not produce, air, or post the interview in question on any of its platforms or elsewhere.
In a statement issued by its General Manager, Chidi Uluka, maintained that the video in question was first aired on ABN’s social media platforms (Facebook and YouTube Live) on July 30th.
He added: “Spin 95.3 FM obtained the video from ABN’s page and credited ABN when we posted it on our TikTok page on July 31st, 2024.
“At no point did Spin 95.3 FM interview Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu. The video was subsequently posted on our Instagram page on August 19th, 2024, at 16:08 hrs, after it had already gone viral.
“From the foregoing, we wish to state that Spin 95.3 FM has not breached any extant law of the land.”
Be that as it may, the reactions that trailed Kalu’s statement has no doubt situate things in proper perspectives and Kalu’s political relevance in the scheme of things in Abia and South-east.
For: Management