Some members of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from Abia State have called on the party to caution the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, over alleged anti-party activities.
The members on the platform of Progressives League of APC Youths Voters are asking President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Dr. Abdullahi Umar Ganduje, to call Kalu in the interest of the party.
At a press conference in Abuja, National Coordinator of the group, Usman Shuaibu, said it had become an embarrassment that some leaders of the APC engage in anti-party activities, castigating the Minister of State for Labour and Employment, Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who has given her all to ensure the victory of the party in the last general election in the state.
But the Chief Press Secretary (CPS) to the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Levinus Nwabughiogu, denied the allegation.
Kalu said he shared a healthy relationship with the minister.
Addressing reporters, Shaibu said: “The most recent is the sponsored campaign of calumny against Hon. NKeiruka Onyejeocha who flew the party’s flag in Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency of Abia State in the February 25, National Assembly elections. She is the Minister of Labour and Employment (State).
“It is no longer news that Nkeiruka, who is our party’s flagbearer, was robbed of her victory by the Labour Party in Abia State, where they deployed unethical means during the Presidential and National Assembly elections against the APC. Recalled that some APC groups raised the alarm calling for the restoration of her mandate which she vigorously pursued at the tribunal and won.
“Since her victory at the tribunal, which is the ultimate triumph of APC in Abia State, some highly placed persons in the National Assembly have unleashed a campaign of calumny against her person using mushroom Organisations to blackmail Hon. NKeiruka Onyejeocha and the APC in a bid to bully her to abandon her victory at the Appeal Court.’’
“We make bold to say that we have identified the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives Mr. Benjamin Kalu, who sees the victory of the Minister as a political threat instead of a blessing as the sponsor of the blackmail against Hon. Nkeiruka Onyejeocha.
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“Kalu has become so desperate that he has resorted to using the name and office of the President Tinubu to blackmail the Minister who is currently focused on her national assignments.
“Kalu has done everything possible to set even the Speaker of House Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas and other highly placed members of the party against her.
“Everytime he fails in his bid to raise dust where there is none, he deploys new evil machinations to bring Nkeiruka down.
“We are worried that, why should the victory of the APC and Hon Onyejeocha in Abia State become a nightmare for Benjamin Kalu? Is there something more to it that he is not telling the APC or his political associates?
“We know how some highly placed persons who are the major beneficiary of the APC worked against the party in the last Presidential elections in the guise of religion and tribal sentiment, thereby reducing the winning votes of our great Party.”
Warning against the implications of such a campaign against committed APC members, Shaibu said such will grow to affect the success of the party in the 2027 general elections.
“We recommend a disciplinary action against the deputy speaker, Mr Kalu and his accomplices to serve as a deterrent to others who may wish to indulge in such dangerous anti-party activity in the near future.
“We call on the National Chairman of our great party, Dr bdullahi Umar Ganduje, who is reconciling and repositioning the party for a better tomorrow to immediately call Mr. Benjamin Kalu to order before he destroys the party completely in Abia State.
“Kalu is not from Isuikwuato/Umunneochi Federal Constituency neither is he a member of the Labour Party. One wonders what is His problem with the victory of Nkeiruka and the APC. This has proven that some members of the party actually engaged in anti party activities to subdue the APC from being declared winner of the House of Representatives election in Abia State.
“We equally call on President Bola Tinubu to call the deputy speaker to order as the APC remains one united family, a united force that will lead us to victory in 2027.
“And if this campaign of calumny continues, we shall have no option than to occupy the National Assembly to demand the resignation of the deputy speaker, an action that would last until we achieve our demand. The APC belongs to all of us and we shall continue to maintain its supremacy.”