A former Commissioner for Finance and Economic Planning in Abia State, Dr. Philips Nto, has accused those who want to truncate the re-election of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of being behind the accusations of academic fraud against the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
He wondered why it is only now—when there is a glimmer of hope for Tinubu and the APC to secure victory in Abia State as a result of Ben Kalu’s hard work—that these accusations are surfacing.
Kalu is being accused of attending law school at the same time he was undertaking his National Youth Service, two programmes that are expected to run separately. The Deputy Speaker has since denied the allegations.
But Nto, a former Provost of Abia State College of Education (Technical), Arochukwu, said the allegation is part of an elaborate strategy orchestrated by the opposition to distract and weaken Kalu in his avowed determination to ensure that Tinubu wins Abia State.
“This is a man who was chairman of Bende Local Government. He has been a commissioner. He had even gone to the House of Representatives before. How come it is now that he is campaigning vigorously for Tinubu’s re-election that they are coming up with these rubbish?” he queried.
Nto noted that in all the political offices held by Ben Kalu, he was duly screened by the relevant security agencies and cleared, only for the enemies of the President to now target him, seeing that he is the face of Tinubu’s re-election bid in Abia State.
He described the targeting of Ben Kalu through what he called an obnoxious smear campaign as unfortunate and irresponsible, saying it betrays the desperation of the opposition.
According to him, “This is all politics and a worn-out political strategy of targeting the strongest link in the campaign. But they have failed woefully because if there was any malfeasance, the security agencies would have noticed it all these years.”
Nto described Ben Kalu as an asset not only to the APC and his constituents but to the entire Abia State.
“In the annals of political representation in Abia State, he is exceptional. Apart from attracting two federal universities to Abia State, the Hon. Deputy Speaker has also been paying special attention to the existing federal university, the Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike,” he said.
The former World Bank economic consultant also pointed to the major developmental initiatives undertaken across Abia State without concentrating solely on his Bende Federal Constituency.
He further noted that Ben Kalu has empowered many sons and daughters of Abia State irrespective of their political leanings, and regretted the smear campaign by those he said are afraid of his rising political profile.
He, however, advised the federal lawmaker not to be distracted by the smear campaign but to remain focused on driving the campaign vehicle for the re-election of President Tinubu.
