10th NASS: Campaign of calumny against Senator Orji Uzor Kalu unacceptable, South-South group warns Afegbua

Ahead of the 10th National Assembly inauguration that has triggered aspirations of lawmakers-elect to become principal officers of the Senate and House of Representatives, a pro-democracy group operating under the aegis of Niger Delta Political Assembly (NDPA), has accused Mr Kazeem Afegbua of campaign of calumny against the Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzokr Kalu.

The group while expressing disappointment, warned that Afegbua should desist forthwith from attacking the person of Kalu, stressing that such further attack would not be tolerated from him by the group.

In a statement which was issued by the group on Saturday, said Mr Kazeem Afegbua in his desperate bid to become SA Media to Godswill Akpabio has lately been churning out lies against Kalu in the media.

The group’s statement quoted Kazeem Afegbua, a former Commissioner of Information in Edo State to have said that the former governor of Abia State was not in the position to call on the All Progressives Congress to zone Senate presidency to the South East, a development, the group frowned at.

The pro-democracy group quoted Afegbua to have said that “Kalu lacked the moral authority to make such a call as the former Governor of Abia state was initially against Bola Tinubu’s presidential ambition.”

The group said, Afegbua was working to impress his paymaster, but he was taking it too far.

“If you’ve been following Afegbua’s approach, it is a campaign of calumny against Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu. It is not because of his (Kalu’s) aspiration now, he (Afegbua) was promised Special Adviser on Media by Senator Godswill Akpabio. Therefore, we are not surprised that at any given instance, Orji Uzor Kalu will always come to the fore,” the Leader of the group, Offiong, stated.

The group further wondered why Afegbua would be talking about issues that happened before the primary election of the All Progressives Congress, noting that the APC went into the presidential election as one united party after the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the party’s flagbearer.

“Afegbua feels without attacking or blackmailing Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, Akpabio would deny him of the appointment he promised him. It is sad that he decided to embark on a campaign of calumny against Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu by using Kalu’s support for the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan. Afegbua has forgotten that the APC went into the election as one united family after the emergence of Bola Ahmed Tinubu as the party’s flagbearer.

“Every leader of the party worked hard for Tinubu’s victory including Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu. We dare say without fear of contradiction that Distinguished Senator Orji Uzor Kalu mobilised Nigerians and risked his own personality for the victory of Asiwaju.”

While calling on the national leadership of the APC to reconsider its zoning formula and rescue the party from going into crisis ahead of the inauguration of the 10th national assembly, it reiterated that sycophantic characters like Afegbua should be ignored by the APC and the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu whose sole aim is to drive division among Nigerians.

“Afegbua is among the group of disgruntled politicians in the camp of Godswill Akpabio trying to set the country ablaze for their selfish individual interest. He is simply disgruntled on account of their failure to hijack the national assembly through the devious means they contrived including blackmailing the President-elect and members of the NWC. This statement is to warn him to desist from blackmailing the Chief Whip of the Senate in order to gain favour from his paymaster, the statement said.