Kalu as House Deputy Speaker and legislative activist

Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, apart from carrying out his official duties, has been active in sponsoring Bills on the floor of the Green Chamber, Adedayo Akinwale reports.

Not long after the winners of the presidential and National Assembly elections held on February 25, 2023 election were announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the political gladiators in the National Assembly couldn’t wait for the governorship elections to hold before they started scrambling for the election of principal officers in the legislative arm.

It took the intervention of the leadership of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the presidency before the gladiators slowed down their campaigns.

For instance, in the Senate, Senators Abdulaziz Yari, Orji Kalu, Jibrin Barau, Sani Musa, Godswill Akpabio, Dave Umahi, among others, indicated interest in becoming the President of the 10th Senate.

The situation wasn’t so different in the House where the likes of Hon. Ado Doguwa, former Deputy Speaker of the House, Hon. Idris Wase; Aliyu Betara; Yusuf Gagdi; Benjamin Kalu; Tajudeen Abbas, Abdulraheem Olawuyi, Sada Soli, Makki Yalleman and Sani Jaji showed interest to contest for the position of Speaker.

At the end, the leadership of the party and the president-elect, who is now the president, Bola Tinubu settled for Akpabio as the Senate President, Barau as the Deputy Senate President; while Abbas was the preferred choice to emerge as Speaker and Kalu as Deputy Speaker.

Following the inauguration of the 10th Assembly on June 13, 2023, Abbas emerged the Speaker, while Kalu emerged as the Deputy Speaker.

Though Kalu’s emergence as the Deputy Speaker did not go down well with many, nevertheless, even his political opponents could attest to his brilliance and the understanding of the workings of the legislative activities.

On few occasions he has presided over the plenary in the House, his finesse, his understanding of the ways the Green Chamber works always bring life to the plenary proceedings.

During his first term in the House, Kalu sponsored 44 Bills, out of which four of the Bills were passed while two were assented to by the president.

Ever since the inauguration of the 10th Assembly, 470 Bills have been introduced by members and read for the first time.

Kalu has refused to slow down. Out of 470 Bills read on the floor of the House, the Deputy Speaker sponsored 45 Bills.

Kalu, a second term lawmaker, representing Bende federal constituency in Abia State, aside his primary responsibility of making laws, also expressed his determination to deliver quality service and common good to the Nigerian people.

To give credence to this, Kalu while delivering a speech recently in Lagos at the “All Markets Conference 2023 in Lagos,” themed: Catalysing Partnership with Traders through Innovation, Technology, Analytics and Sustainability, lamented that about N4 trillion has been lost to the stay-at-home problem in the South-east region within the last two years.

He was of the opinion that the Sit-at-Home enforced on the people of the region —Abia, Anambra, Enugu, Ebonyi and Imo states – has crippled businesses and stifled opportunities for economic growth.

The deputy speaker emphasised that violence was alien to the region and therefore called for a collective effort by all Igbo sons and daughters to end the menace.

He opined that the existential threat to Igbo entrepreneurship and businesses now is the insecurity and sit-at-home problem in the Southeast, adding that the mutation of this problem is largely unfathomable.

Kalu noted that the problem is becoming a cankerworm that is eating deep into the collective fortune of the region.

He opined that there was a need for everyone to rise up to nip the problem in the bud. He added that the first wave of the migration of Igbo businesses post-civil war was in the late 1980s and the 1990s, when, due to incessant kidnappings, thievery and a rise in occultism, Igbo businesses domiciled in Igbo land moved en masse to other parts of Nigeria and the West and Central African region to thrive.

The deputy speaker explained that they are currently witnessing the second wave of such migration of the Igbo businesses as a result of insecurity and the sit-at-home.

According to him: “This is not us. We are not known for these. If I do not tell you these truths as your son, then it will be difficult for anyone in governance from Ala-Igbo to tell you. I am pained by what our dear land has become. We have to be honest and sincere with ourselves.

“I make a heartfelt plea to each and every one of you. We cannot afford to retreat from our business endeavors. The stay-at-home order on Mondays has resulted in staggering losses of N4 trillion in the last two years in the Southeast alone according to statistical data by analysts. This is also affecting the businesses of our brothers across Nigeria especially in the supply-chain. We must find lasting solutions to the security challenges in Igbo land, addressing them collectively with innovative strategies. My brothers and my sisters. We must think and think again!

“In this spirit, let us remember the longstanding harmonious relationship between the Yoruba and the Igbo, especially in Lagos and other parts of the Southwest. We have come a long way together, both economically and politically. We can draw inspiration from past collaborations, such as Sir Louis Odumegwu Ojukwu’s role as the founding president of The Nigerian Stock Exchange in Lagos, and the partnership between Nnamdi Azikiwe and Sir Herbert Badmus Macaulay during the glory days of the then National Council of Nigeria and the Cameroons (NCNC). Umunem na Umunnam, Igbo bu Igbo, let me assure you that my colleagues and I from the South East are committed to this task in the next four years of the current administration. With me as the Deputy Speaker, we will work together towards an inclusive and prosperous Nigeria.”

By virtue of his position as the number six citizen in the country and the political leader of the South-east, the Deputy Speaker recently pleaded with President Bola Tinubu to consider the South-east for additional ministerial positions like other regions of the country.

Similarly, the Deputy Speaker urged members of the APC and Igbo leaders in the South-east to unite as one and pursue their common destiny against all odds.

Kalu, who made the appeal when the leaders of the ruling party in Abia State paid him a courtesy call, also underscored the need to defeat insecurity in the South-east region.

He was of the opinion that the region cannot achieve any major milestone as a people without being together. He said most times their nemesis is when they believe they could be lone rangers.

Kalu said it doesn’t work and it has never worked. He noted that the difference between their leadership and that of people from other jurisdictions is because they find it difficult to stick together for a longtime.

According to him: “That’s what differentiates us from others who are playing politics in other jurisdictions. I’m sure you’re not in doubt, if you are in doubt, check President Tinubu’s team yesterday and today and tell me who has changed. Is it Femi Gbajabiamila, Fashola, I can go on and on, they know what it means to stay together for a long period. Does it mean that all of them are saints in politics? Does it mean that nobody is offended in the course of politicking? The answer is no. The wisdom that has guided them to achieve what they are achieving today is the same wisdom that made them understand that a house that’s divided itself cannot stand and that progress is found in unity”.

To this end, the deputy speaker urged the leaders from the region to push for more unity, reconcile, open the windows and doors, and embrace one another in the spirit of togetherness, spirit of democracy.

No doubt, Kalu has so much on his shoulder as the deputy speaker of the House and as the political leader of the South-east region. However, many believed that the Bende federal Constituency-born politician is equal to the task.