Abia government has knocked the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, saying his criticism of the administration of Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, is because of his governorship ambition.
This was as the government advised Kalu to Keep his ambition till appropriate time.
It described recent comments by Kalu, who represents the Bende federal constituency of of the state about Otti’s administration as “spurious allegations”.
Recall that Kalu during an event organised by members of the All Progressives Congress, APC, in Umuahia, the state capital, on Sunday, claimed that Otti’s administration has underperformed despite receiving substantial allocations from the federal government.
According to him, the APC will take control of the state in 2027. Otti was elected on the platform of the Labour Party, LP.
Reacting in a statement on Monday, Special Adviser to Governor Otti on Media and Publicity, Ferdinand Ekeoma, said Kalu did not consider naira depreciation and the increase in minimum wage while comparing the allocations received by the state government and previous administrations.
Ekeoma said the deputy speaker failed to speak about the increase in the number of civil servants in Abia state from 31,000 to over 67,000 now.
He faulted Kalu’s appeal to the Lagos government over recent demolitions of structures, adding that if the intent was genuine, the appeal would have been private.
“It’s interesting that after playing hide and seek and enabling an unprovoked opprobrious media onslaught against the government for months, he finally unmasked himself and his ambition while pretending to be projecting President Tinubu, whom he drops his name at will as a strategy to advancing his selfish political interest.
“Finally, Kalu should be advised not to over-trouble himself over what he saw in Aba; that was just a rehearsal,” he said.
Why Deputy Speaker Kalu is attacking Gov Otti – Abia Govt