- Says region will contribute to peace, unity
- Seeks Buhari’s support to clinch slot
By Chesa Chesa
Aspirant to the senate presidency in the 10th Assembly, Orji Kalu, says that despite the Southeast not giving the All Progressives Congress (APC) quantum votes in the last general elections, the region will bring about more peace and unity in the country if he emerges the Senate President.
Kalu, who is currently the chief Whip of the Senate, bared his mind to State House correspondents on Tuesday, shortly after he met with President Muhammadu Buhari in Aso Rock Villa, Abuja.
He said he was in Aso Rock to officially inform Buhari of his intention to run for the President of the Senate if the APC zones the position to Southeast.
“I was received this afternoon by President Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) in the State House. It was an honour to present my certificate of return to Mr President and to thank him for the attention he gave Abia North Senatorial District in the last three years.
“I also intimated Mr President of my intention to run for the office of the Senate President in the 10th National Assembly”, he stated.
According to the former Governor of Abia State, now representing Abia North senatorial zone, if the Senate presidency is zoned to the Southeast, the region will bring peace and unity, which is even more valuable than votes.
He argued that though the zone may not have voted for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the President-elect, at the recently concluded Presidential election, making him the Senate President would bring peace and honour to the country.
Kalu said he also discussed the stability of the ruling party with the President and urged him to take over the position of the APC”s Board of Trustees (BoT) immediately after handing over to the President-elect later in the year
He noted that the ruling party was faced with serious crises ahead of the just concluded general elections adding that Buhari’s interventions saved the APC from going under before the polls.
He urged the President not to totally retire from politics but take over the leadership of the ruling party at the highest level in order to give direction.
According to him, “I suggested to the President I said we cannot allow you to rest. I’m going to be consulting the party. The party should bring back our Board of Trustees or something that looks like it so that Mr President will be Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party so that every four or five months, he will come and see how the party is doing.
“We cannot just leave the party empty, it was done in the young days of ANC so that the President will still be part of the conscience of the party so that we will have somebody to run to when we have problems in the party because it was just God that saved our party, that is the truth.
“God saved our party because the quarrel inside the party was so much, the rancour is so much. It’s just God that saved this party.
“So we need a man like President Buhari to be aside, every three, four months, we’ll go and drag him from Daura and he will settle party matters, we’ll put him back, he goes back there and continues looking after his cattle and rice and all the rest of them.
“Me I’m not yet ready to look after my palm kernel, I have more time to go before I start going to look after my palm kernel.”
