Amby Uneze in Owerri
A pressure group, the South East Youths for Democracy (SEYD), has risen in support of the candidacy of Hon. Benjamin Kalu, House of Representatives-elelct for Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State as a fit and proper person for the position of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives.
The group, which expressed disaffection over the perceived marginalisation and exclusion of the region from the nation’s political leadership, argued that with a plethora of qualified sons and daughters at the House of Representatives, especially, those of the ruling APC, “it is only natural that one person be projected to occupy the seat of the deputy speaker of the lawmaking body.”
Coordinator of the group, Fabulous Wisdom, in a statement argued that Kalu’s capacity for the exalted position justified his number of bills he either sponsored or co-sponsored and which was the highest in the entire South East with 43 to his name and three assented to by the president.
Wisdom also noted that Kalu ranked the highest on motions of national importance with 22 to his name.
“On representation, Benjamin Kalu has attracted the comparative highest in percentage of value of infrastructure attracted to South east, which runs into billions of naira. On visibility as the image of the Igbo nation, he is the image maker of the House of Representatives for four years and has defended the House well and projected the image of the Igbo man better,” he said.
Having assessed all the three qualified members-elect from the south east, Wisdom said SEYD was convinced beyond all reasonable doubts that Kalu was more qualified than the others, noting that his wide acceptability among party leaders and stakeholders, governors, opinion moulders and ethnic groups outside the South east had made it necessary and inevitable for the group to back him for the plum job.
“We, therefore, overwhelmingly support the micro zoning of the post of Deputy Speaker of the 10th House of Representatives of the Federal Republic of Nigeria to Hon. Benjamin Kalu,” he stated.
