As the race for the 2027 general election keeps hotting up, voters in Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State have been urged to reelect the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon Benjamin Kalu.
A former senatorial aspirant, Dr Philips Nto made the passionate appeal in a statement he issued in Umuahia Tuesday, saying that Bende needs to sustain the quality representation they have been enjoying under the Deputy Speaker.
He specifically told Bende constituents that the reelection of the Deputy Speaker “is a project for all Bende people for the sustainable development of the Federal Constituency”.
“Ben Kalu is a national asset. He is the voice of Ndigbo in Nigeria. He has represented us well, that’s why I insist that his reelection is beyond political party and zoning considerations,” Nto said.
Kalu, who is currently serving his second term in the Green Chamber of the National Assembly, is seeking a third term of representation of Bende and is expected to face stiff challenge in the forthcoming poll.
In drumming support for the Deputy Speaker, Nto described Kalu’s reelection bid as “a state project” devoid of political boundaries as it would benefit not only the people of Bende Federal Constituency but the entire Abia.
He stated that the Deputy Speaker has demonstrated immense capacity, accommodation, compassion and inherent ability to fight for the people of Abia irrespective of their political and religious leanings.
Dr Nto, who was denied APC senatorial ticket for Abia North in controversial circumstances, advised the people of Bende Federal Constituency against allowing issues of zoning or political party affiliation to prevent them from making the right choice.
He said that Bende voters must focus on performance in deciding the candidate they would cast their ballots for, adding that Ben Kalu remains the best choice.
“Ben Kalu has used his exalted position to attract infrastructure to Abia State, including a university. He has influenced the federal appointments of several Abia people and secured employment for others,” he stated.
Nto further reminded Bende people that Kalu has made good use of his position at the federal level to attract developmental projects not only for Bende Federal Constituency but for Abia and the South East states.
The University don and former Provost of Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu, noted that it was because of the political dexterity of the Deputy Speaker that the South East Development Commission(SEDC) became a reality.
He pointed out that, as the number six man in Nigeria, and highest political office holder in Igboland, Ben Kalu has leveraged his position to defend the interests of Ndigbo, Bende Federal Constituency inclusive.
Nto, therefore, called on the people of Bende not to put their fate in the hands of a political neophyte who has “nothing to offer except his celebrity lifestyle and social orientations”.
According to him, “the job (of representing Bende Federal Constituency) is for matured minds, cerebral minds, experienced hands, movers and shakers in the Nigerian political landscape”.
He stated that the Deputy Speaker’s legislative experience at the federal level and his political brinkmanship makes him stand out as a huge political asset which Bende Federal Constituency must preserve.
“Ben Kalu is the most qualified and should be encouraged to continue his good work,” Dr Nto asserted.
