Kalu declares Senate Presidency ambition, says ‘it’s my turn’

A former Governor of Abia State and Chief Whip of the Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has declared his intention to contest for Senate Presidency in the 10th National Assembly, saying that it was his turn to occupy the exalted office.

This was as he rejected Muslim Senate President, arguing that since Nigeria is a secular State, it would not be right for persons of the same religious faith to occupy the first three highest political offices in the country.

Kalu, who won re-election to represent Abia North in the apex legislative Assembly, made the declaration on yesterday at the National Assembly Complex, Abuja, while briefing journalists on his next political ambition.

This therefore, has made him the first Senator-elect to publicly declare his interest in the number three position, after the February 25 Presidential and National Assembly elections.

Also, Kalu unequivocally stated that it was his turn to become the President of the Senate in forthcoming Tenth National, noting that being the most ranking Senator of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) from the South East.

He said: “Your question is whether I am in support of Muslim Senate President; my answer is no, because I speak the truth. Like I told you people last time that I would stand for Muslim-muslim Presidential ticket because that is what will make the APC to win.

“But I will not be comfortable with Muslim Senate President because this is a secular State. In a secular State, we need to accommodate different interests and nations upon nations and spread, to be able to maintain the secularity of our country.

“I believe in a Muslim -Muslim President but I will not believe in Senate President Muslim ,because it will not augor for our country.

“On weather I will run for Senate President, I  am ready to run for Senate President if the Party zones it to my zone because the party is supreme. So, I will like the Party to zone it to my zone, because President Tinubu needs  people of high character to turn around the economy and work for the masses and make laws that will enable him turn around the economy. I am an economic person, an entrepreneur.

“The bills I sponsored like the railway bill, you can see that the State governments can now build railways; private sector entities can now build railways, like the electricity sector was unbundled.

“The Senate has rules, let me be honest with you, if we practice true democracy, I should not be in contest with anybody because apart from the Senate President and Deputy Senate President, the Senate Leader, I am the next ranking member in the Senate going by the position I occupy today in the 9th Senate.

“It is virtually impossible that the Senate will elect or zone it to a new member to the Senate. The Senate is an established institution that needs somebody with an experience, some one with the skills and will be able to relate.

“On the general elections, no election is perfect, we have some lapses, there is no democracy that is perfect but we must move on. INEC has done the job they can do, it is left for us as lawmakers to tighten the lose ends in the Act. Where there is a mistake, we go back for amendment and I want you journalists to promote where there are lapses.

“President Tinubu,  I want to assure you, will stand firm in giving good governance. He will also stand firm with this 10th Assembly to amend the Constitution to see that we can   do electronic voting and do away with paper work in our elections.

“For me, no election is perfect, and President Tinubu is talking about fairness and he  will work with the National Assembly in line with human rights to address the issues of economy, electoral processes, Police and security, and remove issues around electoral processes.

“I am a team Nigeria, and will always be there for Nigerians at all times, and I hope that Nigerians will Pray for me to be Senate President because it is my turn.”