The Vice Chairman of Amuwo Odofin Local Government Area of Lagos State, Mrs Maureen Ashara, has said the support, commitment and loyalty of the Deputy Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, would rub off positively on the Igbos.
Speaking in an interview with the media, she said that already the South east has started benefitting from the commitment of the deputy speaker to the Renewed Hope Agenda of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
She said, “Well, I see it as a sign of maturity and understanding on the part of the deputy speaker, Rt.Hon. Benjamin Kalu who is currently the highest political office holder from the south east. You gain nothing from politics of aggression. To get what we want from government, we need to endear the south east to the centre and that is exactly what the Deputy Speaker is doing and to be honest his commitment to the president is bringing a lot of good tidings to the region. It is even one of the reasons why the president approved the South East Development Commission (SEDC), which the Deputy Speaker played a vital role in its passage in the National Assembly. Again, if you see the way the Deputy Speaker last year emerged unopposed, you will agree with me that God has a hand in it and that he is going to do a lot of wonderful things in Igbo land and beyond and he has already started doing them as a man of vision. Just imagine the Peace In South East Project(PISE-P),which he pioneered. Benjamin Kalu knew that where there is no peace, there cannot be development. He knew that development is going down in the south east because of insecurity and the Sit-At-Home.
“He came up with PISE-P, which is aimed at promoting the use of non-kinetic approach in tackling the security challenges in the South East, as well as facilitating reconciliation among communities and individuals affected by past conflicts. This is a laudable and commendable initiative and I am so glad that the Deputy Speaker is coordinating this with his colleagues, legislators from the South-East. I am also glad that the legislators are joining hands with the Governors, Ohanaeze Ndigbo and other leaders to restore peace in the region. This project deserves our collective support. I am appealing to all the son and daughters of Igbo extraction to join in promoting peace in South East. Without peace, there will be no development in our region. So kudos to Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu for his vision for a peaceful and prosperous south east.
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“Yes. That is one of the issues that Benjamin Kalu is fighting right now. The truth is that the reason why south east is lacking in federal presence with regard to infrastructure and the other developmental projects is because we are a lot of the time in the opposition. If you are not where things are being shared, you would end up getting only a piece meal, while those present would take the lion shares. So when we are complaining that we are being neglected by the centre or that the party at the centre is not treating us well. We should know that it is because we removed ourselves from where the decisions of who- gets- what is being taken. That is the reason why I strongly feel that Igbos should try to reconsider the way we vote during elections. We cannot continue to be canceling ourselves out and at the same time blaming federal government for not treating us equally with the other parts of the country. So, a lot of the time, what is happening to us is from us. There is no way we can continue to be doing the same thing and expect a different result. I feel that the time has come for us to examine our voting pattern to know how beneficial it has been for us.”
Speaking further on Benjamin Kalu’s political future, she said, “i strongly believe that he will go very far because he has everything on his side, age, intelligence, humility and charisma. The hand and wisdom of God is also upon him, that was why he emerged unopposed as the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, because once God is with you, no power can contend with you. With the way he is going right now, I don’t see anything stopping him from getting to the top of Nigeria’s politics. Another very important thing is that he carries people along in whatever he is doing. The South East Development Commission which he helped to facilitate is one project that would benefit thousands of easterners. It is a project that would transform the life of thousands of people in the south east. That is the type of thing that Benjamin Kalu does. He always try to impact positively on the people.”
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