Ben Kalu: It’s risky for APC to ignore south-east in n’assembly leadership positions

Benjamin Kalu, a member of the house of representatives, has justified the consideration of the south-east geopolitical zone in the leadership positions of the 10th national assembly.

Speaking on Sunday in an interview with Channels Television, Kalu dismissed insinuations that the south-east does not deserve the position of deputy speaker considering the votes scored by the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the zone.

On May 8, the APC nominated Tajudeen Abbas and Kalu as the preferred choice for speaker and deputy speaker, respectively.

Some lawmakers, including Idris Wase, the outgoing deputy speaker, had rejected the party’s nominations.

Abbas is from the north-west zone of the country while Kalu hails from the south-east.

Reacting to the development, Kalu said the decision of the party is to achieve nation-building and national cohesion.

He said the south-east did not hold any top leadership positions in the 9th national assembly, adding that it would be a “big risk” for the APC to neglect the zone in the 10th assembly.

“The difference between the administration that we are expecting our president-elect is that he knows the importance of healing. The journey to the 2027 elections starts with what we do now,” he said.

“When you talk about nation building you forget about sentiments, you forget about emotions and look at the strongest argument.

“The strongest argument here is how we will incorporate all the beautiful efforts of the diversified parts of the country and come together to work for what we preach. It is by unity, peace and progress.

“You may recall that in the last four years, the south-east was not holding any of the presiding officers’ positions and it has impacted this election, among other things.

“I can assure you if you neglect south-east again, a whole zone in such a sensitive position, then you battle again in 2027, that is a big risk for any great planner to take.

“If you start now to plan and adopt this spirit of inclusion, south-east is going to yield a better harvest than what was yielded before.”