Ben Kalu: Abia Govt Accused of Allocating N100bn to Demarket Deputy Speaker ahead of 2027 Elections
- The Igbo Mandate Movement has accused the Abia state government of plotting against Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu ahead of the 2027 elections
- The group alleged N1 billion was budgeted for a damaging demarketing campaign against Kalu
- The IMMG explained why Kalu does not deserve such alleged attacks and urged stakeholders to oppose the Abia government's alleged actions
Umuahia, Abia state - The Igbo Mandate Movement Group (IMMG), a socio-political group, has accused the Abia state government of plotting to undermine the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, and prevent him from returning to the House in 2027.
Igboeli Arinze, the convener of the group, in a statement released on Tuesday, January 6, said IMMG's investigations "uncovered that the Abia state government has designated over N1 billion for a comprehensive demarketing campaign against" Kalu.
Source: Twitter
"This shameful project is being masterminded by a top official of the state government and is currently being executed in calculated phases," Arinze alleged.
How Ben Kalu is being demarketed - Igbo group
According to the group, the demarketing campaign's first and second phases, which it said are already in progress, involve systematic demarketing of the deputy speaker on social media platforms and sponsored media attacks within traditional media outlets.
"These coordinated assaults seek to tarnish the impeccable reputation of a man who has served his people and Nigeria with distinction," Arinze added.
He added that the group has "credible intelligence that the third phase will involve lobbying traditional rulers within the affected zones, with threats and intimidation directed at those who refuse to cooperate with this ignoble agenda."
Arinze further alleged "that the final phase is designed to sponsor organised violence that would provoke the deputy speaker's supporters into retaliation."
"The state government would then swiftly accuse Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu of being the orchestrator of such a crisis, thereby justifying further actions against him," he said.
Igbo group questions Abia govt's alleged plot against Kalu
The group described the alleged demarketing campaign against Kalu as "sinister" and "wicked", questioning why the Abia state government would allegedly channel such funds that could transform the lives of Ndi Abia through road construction, erosion management, security enhancement, healthcare delivery, and provision of pipe-borne water, toward fighting one single individual.
"We describe this plot against a worthy son of Igbo land as sinister, wicked, and antithetical to the progress of our people. We hereby warn those behind this shameful conspiracy to have a rethink immediately," the group added.
It praised Kalu as one of the best things to have emerged from Ala Igbo since the illustrious days of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, Chief Alex Ekwueme, and the late Senator Chuba Okadigbo, adding that the deputy speaker does not deserve being attacked.
"Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu has represented our people creditably and has brought honor to Igbo land through his leadership as Deputy Speaker. Any attempt to pull him down is an attempt to pull down the collective aspirations of Ndi Igbo," the group added.
It, therefore, urged the traditional institutions, religious leaders, civil society organisations, and the international community to prevail upon the Abia state government to abandon "the wasteful and divisive project."
"The Igbo Mandate Movement Group stands firmly behind Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu and will resist any attempt to undermine his well-earned position and reputation," the statement concluded.
Source: Facebook
Source: Legit.ng
