Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu has debunked rumours of rift between him, Ohaneze Ndigbo and South East governors over his Peace In South East Project (PISE-P) initiative.
The initiative was launched in Bende Local Government Area of Abia State on Friday, December 29, 2023.
In a statement by his Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu on Monday, he said It is rather unfortunate that a move that smacks lack of patriotism and support for the pursuit of peace and tranquility of the South East region which was hitherto enmeshed in violence is being hatched.
The statement noted that, a plethora of sponsored gibberishes are coming up both on conventional news platforms and online medium, all aimed at casting aspersions on the person and the office of the Deputy Speaker for championing a worthy cause.
It further noted that, in quick succession to the event, a national newspaper on Sunday, December 31, 2023 went on a wild goose chase, perhaps, on envy spree, publishing a heresy, more of a distillation of garbage called news, saying that the launch of PISE-P has put the Deputy Speaker, the governors of the five eastern states and the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo worldwide on a war path.
It further added that, the report said that Kalu is on a chase with Governor Hope Uzodinma of Imo State over who controls the south east politics in the ruling All Progessaives Congress (APC).
The statement added, “This is to say the least, a hogwash, indeed, a fabrication of lies that passes for tales by moonlight. At best, it is the figment of the overheated imagination of the author of the report, one Johnchuks Onuanyim and his Newspaper.
“Ordinarily, the Office of the Deputy Speaker would not bat an eyelid over the such claptrap of a publication that lacks simple journalistic ethoes of attribution to a story but because we owe the unsuspecting members of the public the huge responsibility of protecting them, this rebuttal, then, becomes very necessary.
“Thankfully, the discerning reading public already knows that hiding under the guise of “a source” to spew lies in the name of news cannot in anyway be convincing.
“To set the record straight, the Deputy Speaker, Rt. Hon. Kalu is not looking for a fiefdom to exert his control over. For those who know him, he is only passionate about the peace, unity, growth and development of his native region”.
According to thestatwmwnt, as a true son of Igbo land, Kalu is concerned and distressed by the security challenges that had bedevilled the south eastern geopolitical hemisphere of the country for a while now.
It added, “What is expected of any son of the soil and the occupant of an office such as his is to galvanize the people and deploy the influence of his office to finding the panacea for the travails of the zone. And this is precisely what Kalu has done and still doing with PISE-P.
“Needless to say that the launch of the novel, noble and bold idea, altruistically initiated by Kalu was a huge success.
Before the event, Kalu toured every nook and cranny of the country, including his south east, selling PISE-P to everyone. So, for an event that was eventually attended by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu represented by his Vice, Senator Kashim Shettima; the senator President ably represented by his deputy, Senator Jubrin Barau, the speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Tajideen Abbas, Ph.D; the governors of 5 eastern States including the chairman of Governors Forum, Senator Hope Uzodinma of Imo State; the Obi of Onitsha, Igwe Nnaemeka Alfred Achebe; Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Babatunde Ogunwusi who represented the traditional rulers from the South; the Emir of Bichi, Nasiru Ado Bayero who represented Sultan of Sokoto, His Eminence, Mohammed Sa’adu Abubakar III; the President-General of Ohaneze Ndi Igbo Worldwide, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu amid an array of stellar personalities from different political, cultural, business and religiously backgrounds, it then defies every logical reasoning to say the talk for peace did not get the desired attention.
“It will be mischievous on the part of the newspaper and the author of the story to feign ignorance of the fact that Governor Hope Uzodinma, Governor Alex Otti of Abia State and the Ohaneze Ndi Igbo President-General, Chief Iwuanyanwu who are prominent sons of Igbo land made a declaration and also took turns to eulogize Kalu for the initiative.
“Needless to also mention that beyond the government officials and the traditional rulers, over 15 billionaires from Igbo land also gathered together in one space for the peace initiative which was the first of its kind.
“Will it not also be edifying to remind the naysayers that prior to the unveiling, the Abia State government hosted their son, Kalu to a grand civic relationship, such that has never held in the history of opposition politics in the state before?
“The Newspaper forgot that Chief Emeka Offor, Chief Arthur eze, Chief Allen Onyema, Chief Tony Chukwu, Chief Chika Okafor, Professor Obiora Okonkwo, Ngozi Ekeoma amongst many other worthy sons and daughters of Ndi Igbo have even before the event identified with the project in no small measures”.