Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, PhD, CFR, has urged all aspirants of All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abia State, especially governorship aspirants, to remain committed to their ambitions, compete openly, and avoid complacency.
Speaking when he received one of the frontline aspirants, Dr. Eric Opah in his Bende country home on Wednesday, Kalu asked the aspirants not to give up, promising his full support across all levels.
He said: “Let me tell you, anybody who has picked a form, keep trying to be on the ballot paper. Don’t give up because Benjamin Kalu is not going for Governorship. That’s my message to everyone. Tell them push, nobody should relent because the same fire we started this fight with, we’re not going to drop it. I said the fire we started this struggle with, we are not going to drop it. We will push it like that till the end. It is only in that fire that we can make somebody governor. It is only in that fire we can make somebody House of Assembly member. It is only in that fire we can make somebody House of Rep member. It is only in that fire that senators will emerge. It is only in that fire that the President will emerge with our contribution from Abia State. We’re not going to relent, we’re going to support. Thank you, my brother, for coming to tell me formally in my place of birth that you are running.”
Kalu said he had previously received formal notifications from former Minister of State for Science, Technology and Innovation, Chief Henry Ikoh and Mascot Uzor Kalu, saying the party’s door remained open to everyone.
The Deputy Speaker however suggested consensus first as a mode of primaries, then, direct primaries if needed, cautioning against moving the ticket outside Abia Central Senatorial District.
“Others have come to the office. I have received former Minister, Ikoh who came to inform me. I have also received Mascot Uzor Kalu who came to inform me. The place is open. Let all of you go. It’s either you agree with one another or we’ll go for direct primaries. But if you ask me, just like other political parties in Nigeria, are currently zoning their Presidential seat to the South, because the current President is from the South. It will be wrong for APC in the state to zone the Governorship ticket away from where the current Governor is operating from. It will be wrong. The current Governor is using the slot of the Central to govern Abia State. It will be wrong to zone it outside the central. I’m not from the Central. Those are some of the issues that made me to stay where I am. The rotation in Abia State went from North to Central to South. Yes it was supposed to come back to North to start another movement, but it was dropped at the Central. And everytime it gets to a particular zone, it stays 8 years. If you take it from there, you will rubbish the formula of power rotation.
“My appeal to APC members is to remember what has united us as a people in Abia State, that has reduced the rancor, the acrimony, the violence during election, is this zoning. It has increased the cohesion for us as politicians. Let us respect that for the sake of cohesion. Let us focus where the current governor is, return the power there, let Umunna choose who they want”, he said.
Referencing the past, Kalu revisited a viral video two years ago where he said “APC will take Abia.” in 2027, saying that many misinterpreted his remarks as a personal bid for office.
He argued that Abia’s distance from federal power has cost the state opportunities, and aligning with the centre is the fastest way to close the gap.
He said: “I made a statement some years ago and people thought I was talking about myself. I said APC will take Abia and they were thinking that Benjamin Kalu was saying it about himself but everyday it is getting real that it was not about self. The video trended with people shouting you want to chase out the governor, you want to be governor. They thought we were coming to write result with rigging. They even asked that we write our wills but my focus was galvanizing a capable grassroot while they were busy attacking my person, career and even family. Today we have gotten a capable grassroot ready to win every election in Abia state. Today, as you watch my steps, it’s unfolding that it is not about self.
“The party at the centre has access to resources that Abians were supposed to benefit from. And I am there. No matter what anyone tells you, Abia is too far from the centre. We can come closer. What are we losing by coming closer or integrating our State to the mainstream politics in Nigeria. Why must we be isolated? You are saying it doesn’t matter. It matters because you don’t know what we are losing.”
The Deputy Speaker commended President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s commitment to true federalism, saying it creates room for sub-nationals to be stronger.
“You are clapping hands for those roads because you don’t know how many we could get. You are clapping hands because the past administrations may not have released the kind of money the President is releasing now. My President is being celebrated in the whole of Nigeria because he believes in true federalism. This is a President that believes that the sub nationals should be strong. This State, in appreciation, should align”, Kalu said.
Signed:
Levinus Nwabughiogu, Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Federal Republic of Nigeria
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