An APC senatorial aspirant for Abia North, Dr Philips Nto, has cautioned against handing over the Abia State structure of the party to his rival Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, alleging that the Senator lacks the capacity to unite APC people in the state and carry them along.
Speaking after consultative party’s stakeholders meeting in Abuja and against the speculation that Senator Orji Kalu has been handed over the APC structure in Abia, Dr Nto, a former Commissioner for Finance in Abia state, declared that the recognised leader of APC in the state is the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu
While pointing out that about 90% of APC members in the state including the Executive believe in the leadership of Ben Kalu, the Senatorial aspirant described Rt Hon Ben Kalu as a unifying factor between original APC members and those who decamped from the PDP and other Parties.
According to him, whereas Ben Kalu commands the respect and loyalty of the APC members, Senator Orji Kalu who he said allegedly relies on Abuja to remerge as Senatorial candidate cannot boast of the same quality.
” Now that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has categorically stated that all National Assembly members should go home and contest primaries under the supervision of their governors, we are waiting for our Senator to come to the field to join us” , the former Provost of Abia State College of Education, Technical, Arochukwu, declared.
Dr Nto expressed confidence that he would defeat the serving Senator at the primaries, claiming that the people of Abia North are disenchanted with the current representation.
“A few days ago,Senator Hope Uzodimma, the governor of Imo State invited Abia stakeholders to Owerri. Orji Uzor Kalu was not there. He believes he is bigger than Hope, bigger than the Zonal Executive and Abia Executive. Let him come to the field for us to test our popularity”, he boasted.
Dr Nto commended Rt Hon Benjamin Kalu for his exemplary and purposeful leadership which has won top politicians in Abia state to APC.
According to him, “Ben Kalu has shown exceptional capacity for leadership. He is our leader. He has mobilised all of us for Tinubu. So we should continue to support him”
