By Charles Ogugbuaja, Owerri
A group, South East Youths for Democracy (SEYD), has expressed support for the member representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, Benjamin Kanu, for the office of Deputy Speaker in the 10th Assembly.
The group faulted those kicking against the suitability of Kalu for the position.
Recall that the National Working Committee (NEC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) chose Kalu as its preferred candidate.
Since the decision was announced, some groups, including the Coalition of the South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), and some individuals have kicked against the offer, saying the region deserves more.
But in a statement signed by the Coordinator of SEYD, Fabulous Wisdom, and made available to The Guardian, yesterday, the group insisted that Kalu had efficiently and effectively represented his constituents and Nigeria, in general, in the lower chambers of the National Assembly.
SEYD maintained that the lawmaker had initiated and sponsored about 43 life-impacting bills, three of which have been assented to by President Muhammadu Buhari.
The group stressed that it would continue kicking against all forms of perceived marginalisation of the zone by ensuring visibility of Southeasterners on the national stage.
The statement reads: “Leaning on patriotic zeal to protect our region from the negative image of divisiveness, SEYD has deemed it necessary to make interventions for the sake of posterity.
“It will amount to political suicide for the South East to be excluded from the leadership of the 10th National Assembly.
“Having a plethora of qualified sons and daughters in the House of Representatives, especially those of the APC extraction, it is only natural that one person from the region be projected to occupy the seat of the Deputy Speaker.
“The capacity of Kalu shows in the number of bills to his credit, which is the highest in the entire South East.”
Source: The Guardian