Former Speaker of Abia State House of Assembly, Rt. Hon. Martins Azubuike has risen in defence of the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, saying that his call on the Governor, Dr. Alex Otti of Abia State to rejoin the ruling All Progressives Congress ( APC) was not out of place.
It will be recalled that the call has generated a lot of debates, for and against.
In his reaction on Tuesday, Azubuike who is a commissioner in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Civil Service Commission said that Kalu was exercising his right and power as a stakeholder of the party as well as a national leader in Nigeria.
Azubuike said that the attacks on the Deputy Speaker were unwarranted and unnecessary.
He recalled that Otti was a member of APC until a few days to the governorship primary election of the party.
The former Abia speaker also recalled that Otti obtained APC’s nomination form for the 2023 governorship primary election before leaving the party for Labour Party (LP) where he eventually contested and won the election.
Azubuike posited that Governor Otti cannot deny his background of APC, adding that the Deputy Speaker has every right to urge his Governor to come back home.
The former speaker further explained that Otti’s return to APC is in the best interest of Abia, stressing that belonging to the ruling party has its own unique advantages than staying put in the opposition.
Azubuike also hailed the legislative dexterity of the Deputy Speaker, commending him for the passage of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) Bill was signed into law recently by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He urged the people of the south east to fully support the Deputy Speaker and leverage on his office to attract greater dividends to the region, stressing that he ought not be vilified but commended for attracting laudable projects to the region.
