Kalu: Gbajabiamila Not Tinubu’s Candidate

Former Abia state governor and Senator elect, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu said on Sunday that 58 Senators elect who are members of the All Progressives Congress (APC), a member from the Young Progressive Party (YPP) have signed up in support of Senator Ahmed Law an emerging as the Senate President.

Kalu also said that any member of the APC opposed to the emergence of Senator Ahmed Lawan and Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila as Senate President and Speaker of the House of Representatives are fighting the wish of President Muhammadu Buhari and Nigerians.

Kalu who spoke when he received the Speakership candidate at his residence in Abuja said the two positions were the only ones the President has shown interest in, adding that it was wrong to assert that because Hon. Gbajabiamila hails from Lagos state, he was a candidate of nation leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

He said President Buhari was interested in the two candidates because they stood solidly defending the party.

He said even though the party has the required number to produce the Senate President, they are still working on a bipartisan approach so as not to have a divided Senate on day of inauguration.

He expressed the hope that in the coming days, the leadership of the party will also conclude arrangement for a smooth process in the emergence of the Speaker through a bipartisan arrangement.

He said “58 Senators have signed for Ahmed Lawan and when you add YPP, you have 59. But we still need other parties to join us for bipartisanship so that there will be no division in the Senate.

Speaking on the candidacy of the House Leader, he said: “There is no doubt that people have been blackmailing you. The President has told all of us collectively and individually that you are not Tinubu’s candidate. It is a mistake. You are endorsed by the Commander inChiefin Chief and President of Nigeria. He told us that in an open place and he told all members of the House of Representatives and members of the Senate.

“Apart from that, just on Monday, I had a private session with the President and asked him what we are going to do. He said, the only two people he wanted is Lawan and Gbajabiamila. You people can take every other thing. This is the truth, I am quoting him correctly. He said I only asked them to give me Lawan and Femi because I see them defending the interest of the party.

“So, if Mr. President said so, it means you are not a candidate of Bola Tinubu. You are a candidate of the APC and a bipartisan candidate. You are a candidate of every party that is represented in the National Assembly.

“I am not going to speak too much because action speaks louder. On the voting day, we will be there and I am assuring you that I have spoken bipartisantly to almost every member of the House from my zone and beyond and I can assure you that they will vote for you because this is a serious business.

“As legislators, we cannot continue to quarrel every time. Constitutional democracy require the majority to produce the Speaker and deputy. We are not going to do the reverse. People who are thinking that precedent will continue should know that it is not possible because we are in a constitutional democracy.

“You have been endorsed by the President and the National Working Committee as well as the Progressive Governors and I have no regret in endorsing you. What we have done in the senate will happen in the House of representatives. We have concluded the issue of the Senate and within the next four days, we will conclude the issue of the House of Representatives.

“We have no alternative as legislators. We need to cooperate and be one big family and support the President with his new agenda of next level and in rebuilding the economy. We need to concentrate in giving our people economic prosperity. We will fight for you because the disgrace will not be your alone. The order is from the President and any APC man or woman going against the order is going against the order of our party. I am not threatening them, but we are party people and so, they should come in as a family.

“What happened in 2015 cannot happen again. In a normal democracy, you don’t need to contest with anybody because you are already Majority leader.”

In his remark, Hon. Fermi Gbajabiamila said they were going round the country to seek the support of well meaning Nigerians for the speaker ship position, stressing that they were determined to build an assembly that will work for the overall interest of Nigerians

He said: “We have gone round soliciting for support and that is why we are here to seek you support and blessing. Wase and I come to the table with about 30 years cumulative legislative experience. He is serving his 4th term and I am serving my fifth term and you cannot buy those experience.

“We have worked together for many years and we have achieved alot together even when we were in the minority. We believe that this ninth Assembly is going to be an assembly like no other. Things are going to be done differently. The office of the Speaker is an office for all Nigerians irrespective of where you come from, your religious persuasion or party affiliation.

“We intend to be an all inclusive 9th assembly and the theme of our campaign is nation building, a joint task and in our logo, you will find a mini logo of all the parties represented in the National Assembly. It is a joint task for all of us. We don’t believe that APC can do it alone neither can PDP do it alone. We need everybody.

“We are going to be working together to get this country to where it is supposed to be.  We are counting down and it is just a matter of days and there is alot to be done. We want to hit the ground running. We have our vision which is already mapped out. We will pursue a national interest.”