From Fred Itua, Abuja
Some members of All Progressives Congress (APC) on the platform of Progressives League of APC Youths Voters have called for a disciplinary action against House of Representatives Deputy Speaker, Benjamin Kalu, over alleged anti-party activities.
The members are specifically calling on President Bola Tinubu and the APC National Chairman, Abdullahi Ganduje, to call Kalu to order in the interest of the party’s unity in Abia State.
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, National Coordinator, Usman Shuaibu, said it had become an embarrassment that some leaders of the APC engage in anti-party activities, openly castigating a committed party flag-bearer who has given her all to ensure the victory of the party in the last general election.
“The most recent is the sponsored campaign of calumny against Nkeiruka Onyejeocha, who flew the party’s flag in Isuikwuato/Umunneochi federal constituency of Abia State in the February 25, 2023 National Assembly elections. She is presently Minister of Labour and Employment (state) of the country.
“It is no longer news that Onyejeocha who is our party’s flag-bearer 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 Onyejeocha and the APC in a bid to bully her to abandon her victory at the Appeal Court.
“We make bold to say we have identified the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Kalu, who sees the victory of the minister as a political threat instead of a blessing as the sponsor of the blackmail against Onyejeocha.”
“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 pit even the of House Representatives Speaker, Tajudeen Abbas, and other highly placed members of the party against her.
“Every time he fails in his bid to raise dust where there is none, he deploys new evil machinations to bring Onyejeocha down.
“We are worried that, why should the victory of the APC and Onyejeocha in Abia State become a nightmare for 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 election in the guise of religion and tribal sentiment, thereby reducing the winning votes of our great party,” Shaibu said.
Warning against the implications of such a campaign against committed APC members, Shaibu warned it would grow to affect the success of the party in the 2027 general election.
“We recommend a disciplinary action against Kalu and his accomplices to serve as a deterrent to others who may wish to indulge in such dangerous anti-party activities in the near future.”