Ohanaeze youths defend Kalu over attacks for urging Otti to rejoin APC

The apex Igbo socio-cultural organisation, Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, on Thursday, denounced attacks on the House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, over his declaration that the All Progressives Congress (APC) will take over Abia State in 2027.

It could be recalled that Kalu, while appearing on a media show, declared that as the number 6 citizen of the country, his state won’t remain in opposition.

The National President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Youth Council Worldwide, Mazi Okwu Nnabuike, in a statement, said the attack on Kalu was needless.

Okwu stated that Kalu’s speech had attracted widespread condemnation, especially from members of the Labour Party, Governor Alex Otti’s political platform.

He opined that the political statement made by Kalu did not in any way demean the office of the governor.

Okwu said: “We are constrained to react to the unfortunate comments that have trailed the statement made by the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, in which he courted the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, to join his party, the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“We have taken our time to digest the remarks made by Hon. Kalu and did not find any disparaging remarks against the person and office of the Abia State Governor, Alex Otti.

“All he did was woo the governor into the APC, a party Otti formerly belonged to before his defection to the Labour Party.

“We find nothing wrong in Kalu courting his former APC member and asking him to rejoin the party to enable Abia to be part of the ruling party at the centre. What he said is not in any way different from what any other high-ranking member of the ruling party would say.

“He said quite clearly in his remarks that Governor Otti is his friend and that they speak almost on a daily basis. So why the much ado about nothing? Why the fuss over a harmless piece of advice from Kalu to his friend Otti? Is Gov. Otti the first and only governor to be invited to the APC? Throughout the second term of Gov. Ikpeazu of Abia State, who was under the PDP, Hon. Ben weekly on his Benkalu Mandate radio program openly invited the governor to join APC. In return, Gov. Ikpeazu invited him back to the PDP he started with, without anyone resorting to this state-sponsored media war over a simple invitation. The group wonders why this is different from Gov. Otti. A simple response of ‘No, I am not interested’ would have sufficed.”

“It is left for Otti to either heed his advice and join APC or to remain in the Labour Party and seek a renewal of his mandate in 2027.”

Okwu restated his call on Ndigbo to respect leadership and detach from the age-old belief that Ndigbo have no king.

He added, “A man working for peace in the South East should be honoured, not maligned. A man who fought for us to get the South East Development Commission to fulfill the 3 Rs promise of over 54 years should be valued.

“He wants the best for the South East, and if in his political philosophy he believes that it is best for all the big stakeholders in the region to come together under a platform for our good, it is within his rights to advocate and lobby for it.

“Even Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D) and Steny Hoyer (D), Majority Leader of the US House, were vocal in asking their home states to remain Democrats (Blue) while asking them to vote for Obama.

“It was not a crime in the US; why is it a crime in Abia that a high-ranking personality in government asked his state to stand with the President and the leader of his party?

“As it stands today, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu is the highest-ranking Igbo personality in the federal government of Nigeria, and he has earned all our respect. We will do anything to preserve him with all dignity and honour.

“Any attack on him is an open attack on the youths of Igboland, and we will respond accordingly. Enough is enough. We are pleased with his work. Accordingly, we urge Ndigbo to accord him the respect he truly deserves. We shall not fold our hands and watch anyone insult him for no just cause.”