Former Minority Leader of Abia State House of Assembly, Hon. Chijioke Chukwu says the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Benjamin Kalu has been vindicated over his viral interview where he called on Governor Alex Otti to join the All Progressives Congress, APC.
The statement comes after the Labour Party governorship candidate in the 2023 election in Lagos State, Gbadebo Rhodes-Vivour, said his party would take over Lagos State in 2027 from the ruling APC.
Rhodes-Vivour, who spoke on the sidelines of LP’s extended stakeholders’ meeting in Umuahia, declared that the party was now positioned to end the APC’s grip on Lagos.
According to report Kalu had made a similar comment, confidently suggesting that the APC will produce the next governor of Abia State.
The Deputy Speaker also declared that the current governor, Otti, will be the last Labour Party, LP, governor to be in charge of the state.
This attracted attack from many Nigerians, especially from the opposition parties.
However, Chukwu in an interview with newsmen, stated that the comment by Rhodes-Vivour was not different from Kalu’s position that APC would clinch the seat of power in Abia State in the next election.
He wondered why the deputy speaker was being vilified for showing his desire to grow his party and have Abia State benefit fully from the Federal Government like other APC-controlled states.
“Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu no doubt has contributed to positive repositioning of Ndigbo towards addressing the age-long agony and he speaks with boldness, without fear.
“Recently, boldly stated that the Labour Party in Abia State will not win the 2027 governorship election and that his party, APC will be the one to produce the next governor of Abia State.
“The former Lagos State governorship candidate, who is in the Labour Party, Rhodes-Vivour, made the same statement during the Labour Party stakeholders’ meeting in Abia State.
“He said, ‘Labour Party will win the 2027 governorship election in Lagos State’. That they will win and take over power from the current party.
“If you cannot criticize Rhodes-Vivour, you have no justification to talk down on the people’s Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives,” he stated.
