by Uchechukwu Okoroafor, Abuja
As Nigerians await the inauguration of the 10th National Assembly, they are watching with keen interest on who would emerge as the new speaker of the House of Representatives.
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One of the top contenders for the coveted seat is the lawmaker representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, Hon Benjamin Okezie Kalu, who is also the chairman of the House Committee on Media and Public Affairs.
Many Nigerians are rooting for him based on his track record of integrity, transparency, accountability and competences in his past and present responsibilities of leadership. His support cuts across all the geopolitical zones of the country having met all the requirements to occupy the position.
While it is good and instructive that many Nigerians have written good report about him, it is also important to know what Ben Kalu think of himself and why he is the best man for the job.
Recently he expressed why Nigerians should trust him with the Speakership position and what kind of Speaker he is going to be.
In a recent media engagement, the spokesman of the outgoing 9th House of Representatives, pledged to bring about the true independence of the legislature if elected the speaker of the incoming 10th National Assembly.
Kalu made the pledge while formally declaring his ambition to run for the speaker of the incoming House in Abuja.
He said: “Nigerians are looking for a speaker that will increase what I call parliamentary sovereignty where the motions, the resolutions and independence of the arm of government would be showcased better than 9th assembly had struggled because 9th assembly has maintained its independence, then we need somebody that will take the bet and sustain that independence.
“Many people say rubber stamp but we have always consciously monitored the borderline in the way we sustain this free relationship with the executive, understanding the doctrine of separation of power, knowing the borderline between what is expected by the mandate of our arm of government constitutionally speaking and where the mandate of the executive starts.
“So, Nigerians are looking for parliamentary sovereignty, Nigerians are looking for the speaker that will increase institutional trust. You and I will agree that the coming of the legislature appears like a strange arm of government when Nigerians have been used to the military rule – the executive and the judiciary.
“The issue becomes who is that man that will increase the credibility, the capacity, the knowledge base legislative intervention that would gladden the hearts of Nigerians to begin to understand that really this is the fulcrum of our democracy.
“The institutional trust is key in the minds of Nigerians and I’m a Nigerian as well so, I know what all of us are looking for. Who is coming to sustain what has been done by these builders who have started the building and had laid bricks and who would take it up from there?”
Kalu also promised to promote legislations that will give facelift to education, economy, economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, insecurity and healthcare and environmental sustainability.
“It is a speaker that is gender sensitive that will reopen that space and begin to see reasons what they did not pass through before the president and then begin to give it the sense of belonging.
“So, prioritizing education is what is in the mind of Nigerians. Laws around education, laws around the economy, economic growth, job creation, poverty reduction, insecurity and healthcare and environmental sustainability.
“These are some of the things that the speaker that is coming on board should be equipped to be able to deliver and I know Benjamin Okezie Kalu has been equipped to represent 369 members as the image maker of the House of Representatives for 4 years and was no mean feat and we have discharged our responsibility creditably well, making sure that the image of the National Assembly where we met it was not lower than where we are leaving it, to climb to the next pedestal.
“We have tried our best to ensure that both at the constituency level, both at membership level, both the relationship between members and relations between arms of government and the vertical relationship with the executive, we have sustained that relationship and kept our image through public engagement. We have always been yearning, and listening to Nigerians as it pertains to transparency, to be able to open up the space so that we can reduce the opaqueness in the activities of the House of Representatives,” he said.
Aside his competence which has never been in doubt, one other advantage that Hon Benjamin Kalu has in the race is that he is from the South East, a zone that has been marginalized by the ruling party and this is an opportunity for the party to make amend by supporting the next speaker to come from the zone. Already many groups in the South East have thrown their weight behind Kalu given that he is clearly the most qualified for the job from the region.
Recently, the Coalition of South Eastern Young Leaders Association ( CSYLA) appealed to the All Progressives Congress (APC) to consider the South East zone for speaker.
In a statement signed by Dr Ogwo Okechukwu Kalu and made available to newsmen in Awka, Anambra State capital, the group asked the APC to pacify South East with the position of speaker of the House and nominated the current spokesperson of the House of Representatives, Hon Benjamin Kalu for the position.
According to the group, it arrived at the decision after its meeting and stated that the leadership of the House of Representatives will be better under Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, its current spokesperson.
According to the group, it is confident that he would build on the landmark achievements of Rep. Femi Gbajabiamila and Rep. Wase, who brought great innovations on better ways of getting things done in the legislature.
It stated that Benjamin Kalu has demonstrated credibility, capacity, commitment, dedication and high sense of responsibility in discharging his duties of managing the image of the House of Representatives.
“To give the South-easterners the sense of belonging, stimulating a better national unity, the Speakership slot of House of Representatives should be zoned to the South East.
“We have a candidate in Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, the current Spokesperson of the House of Representatives whom we are confident will exceed expectations with his performance.
“He survived all that was thrown at him to stop him from standing boldly for APC in the South East, with no state governor to shield him during campaigns and elections since Abia State is under PDP, no godfather to project or protect his ambition as many of them divided APC to choose labour and other political parties instead of APC, yet he fought like a wounded lion for APC and won the battle as the only surviving APC House of Representatives member in the entire Abia State, the other two in the South East had the covering of their state Governors who were APC Governors but Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu fought alone and won for APC despite the LP wave in the South East which retired many great politicians.” Need we add more? Nothing more to add except to state that the cap fits Hon Benjamin Kalu, let him wear it!