Deputy Senate Presidency: Your Ambition A Joke Taken Too Far, Abia Leaders Tell Orji Kalu

Abia leaders and human rights lawyers from the state have described the ambition of former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu to occupy the office of Deputy Senate President as a joke taken too far.

They also said those who endorsed the former Abia State governor last week as reported in the media, were “faceless Arewa youth” rented for that purpose by the senator-elect.

Speaking at a news conference in Abuja, Sunday,the coordinator of the group under the aegis of Abia Leaders and Human Right Lawyers, Uche Okoroafor, asked senators-elect to reject Kalu for the position of Deputy Senate President given that he lacks experience for the office.

“Our attention has been drawn to the ambition of the former governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and his purported endorsement by some faceless and rented groups for the office of Deputy Senate President of the 9th Senate.

“We see his ambition as another joke taken too far and we make bold to ask our most respected senators-elect to reject this former governor’s ambition in order to save the 9th Senate from another controversial beginning,” he said in a prepared text read before newsmen.”

He added: ”The revered office of the Deputy President of the Senate should not go for the highest bidder as in the thinking of the former governor.

“Only last week a cross section of rented Arewa youth was reported to have endorsed him for the job.

“The former governor was alleged to have dole out several billions of naira in the execution of this project .

“The former governor has never hidden his desperate desire to grab this job and his desperately doing it in his own way as he boldly said in a recent outburst.

“We ask our distinguished senators elect to shine their eyes . We cannot afford to make another mistake that will drag the name of the Senate to the mud.

”It’s also laughable for someone who knows he would soon go for a rerun, to have embarked on such a wild gooses chase.

“Rather than the former governor to support the quest for a South East speaker in the 9th House of Representatives, he is busy embarking on desperate ambition of becoming the next Deputy Senate President.”

He asked: ”Between speaker and Deputy Senate President, which one will do the Igbos more favour? And why would a self acclaimed leader trade-off the speakership with Deputy Senate President?”