Peter Eze
The All Progressives Congress (APC) should rest assured they are in very safe hands in the South-East with Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu as Deputy Senate President. In about two month’s time, the 9th National Assembly will be inaugurated and intense politicking is already on regarding who leads the federal lawmakers in both Senate and House of representatives. Why this is not resolved yet, what remains certain is that the APC is going to produce the next principal officers in both chambers. In the red chamber, the APC has 25 seats more than the PDP while the ruling party is clearly ahead of the PDP by 100 seats in the green chamber.
The APC National Working Committee (NWC) is expected to reconfirm any moment from now which zone gets which position. But while the wait is on, one thing appears clear- the South-East deserves to produce the next Deputy Senate President. And there is no doubt Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, former Abia State governor and only APC senator confirmed so far, stands out from the region.
Ordinarily, looking at the composition of the executive and the judiciary, the South East should have produced the Senate President, so as to balance the power equation. This is so because the South-East is the only zone that is obviously left out in the scheme of things both within the ruling party and at the national level. Therefore, the South East conceding the Senate presidency for Deputy Senate presidency for whatever reason is expected to be heartily welcomed by other zones. Anything short of that could be regarded as hatred, gang up and wickedness against the Igbo, especially after the North-East has been favoured to produce the Senate President, whereas North-West and South-West have the president and the vice -president respectively, while the South -South has the APC National Chairman .
There have also been long cries of marginalisation which the South-East has continued to lament over the years. By ceding the Deputy Senate presidency to the South-East which will leave Senator-elect Kalu in that position, it will go a long way to pacify the region by bringing it into the mainstream of Nigeria politics. The measure will in turn douse tensions and possible agitation for separation.
Although Kalu is coming to the Senate as a first timer, he already has legislative experience from as back as 1992/1993 when he was a member of the House of Representatives. Many leaders from the South East have expressed their concerns on the calculated attempts to deny the Igbo their rightful place in the affairs of the nation, just as others have strongly canvassed their support for Kalu for the position.
Governor Rochas Okorocha of Imo State, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu and Chief Chekwas Okorie have all differently warned against short-changing the rights of the Igbo on the altar of excuse and hatred.
In a recent interview with one of the titles of The Sun Newspapers, former Anambra State governor and Minister of Labour, Senator Chris Ngige, made additional case on why Kalu is a qualified candidate for even the Senate President’s position.
According to him, “the South-East has Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu who was a federal legislator during the military regime; it’s counted because it was a National Assembly. So, he has got some ranking, his ranking from the House of Representatives is counting for him. Therefore, Orji Uzor Kalu is qualified.”
At the party level, Kalu has proven to be a true representative of the APC in the region and has continued to raise the party’s flag high despite the opposition from opponents. In the last elections, he delivered Abia North for the APC including two House of Representatives seats and members of the state House of Assembly.
Perhaps, the most obvious reason why Kalu should be supported in his ambition as number two helmsman in the Senate is his unalloyed loyalty and support for the party. As a philanthropist, he has stood by the party and President Muhammadu Buhari, despite the perceived disliking for the ruling party in the South-East region.
Kalu played a major role in President Buhari’s re-election. As the National Co-ordinator of National Movement for Re-Election of Buhari (NMFRB), the former governor took the pains of embarking on a nationwide campaign with his team. The tour afforded him the opportunity of convincing many prominent Nigeria leaders, opinion moulders and even traditional rulers on why Buhari is the right man to take Nigeria to the next level.
For instance, in the build-up to the campaign, the former governor had led a delegation to the residence of former military President, General Ibrahim Babangida, former Head of State, General Abdulsalami Abubakar, Governors of Jigawa, Niger, Katsina and several traditional rulers in the North and South where he solicited support for the president. He visited these leaders to convince them on why they should support President Buhari for 2019; to conclude his second term. His foundation Orji Uzor Kalu Foundation also relocated to Maiduguri in Borno State where its huge philanthropic gestures were extended to the people.
Recalling his sacrifices, hard-work and unalloyed support for the APC, Kalu while declaring his intent to run for the position of the Deputy Senate President said he is “a very loyal party man.”
According to him, “the party has zoned the Senate presidency to the North-East and I want to respect the party’s will; but the second position is what we are not going to allow to leave the South-East. I have suffered for the party and have been called by Nigerians to come out. I want the party to respect the will of every other person and I’m committed to democracy.”
Nigerians and the international community especially Kalu’s fans and supporters are grateful to God for sparing Kalu’s life during his campaign for the APC. More than twice, he escaped assassination attempts when thugs suspected to have been hired attacked his convoy. But the attacks couldn’t stop him from continuing his campaign for the APC to secure victory for the party and President Buhari.
The former governor is a successful leader in business and politics with deep legislative experience and he is proven to be a true representative of the APC in South East region. One can attest to this with the massive votes APC garnered from the zone in 2019 compared to that of 2015. He has continued to raise the party’s flag high despite the opposition from opponents. To this end, it is clear to even the blind that there can be no better candidate for the position of Deputy Senate President than Kalu who, because of the APC, has been called all sorts of names by his traducers and opponents all in an attempt to paint him black, but they never succeeded.
Eze , wrote in from Beijing , China
In as much as South East has just held the post Deputy Senate president, the South South has not held it, it is better conceded to South South. In the sane wise, since the South East has not held the post of Speaker for a very long time, it is better to concede it to them, while Deputy Speaker goes to North Central. There’s no problem leaving Senate presidency in the North East.. By this arrangement every region gets at least the minimal sense of belonging, the North West and South West having already got the President and Vice President. The issue of South West wanting to grab two positions at the expense of South East or South South can only be described as greedy, or if done by the party or the presidency, a calculated attempt to pitch South West against South East as a means of Divide and Rule. South West should resist the attempt to be used. Chief Orji Uzor Kalu should see and accept the best arrangement for the South East irrespective of his personal ambition, else he might be allowing his personal interest to be used to scuttle the overall interest of South East.
Kalu has a case in court with the EFCC. How any reasonable person would suggest him as Deputy Senate President beats my imagination. It shows the extent of hate for Nigeria. Can’t we wish our country something better? Kalu is encumbered and should be ruled out completely even though he has not been found guilty. The man will be wasting legislative time as a principal officer in court. That is not good enough. Can’t we learn from Dino and Saraki experience?