By Stanley Ohajuruka

Envy is not a virtue. This is perhaps, an admonition most appropriate for the member representing Ikwuano/Umuahia North/Umuahia South Federal Constituency of Abia State in the House of Representatives, Hon. Obi Aguocha in response to his diatribe and vituperations I read earlier today against the deputy speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu who equally represents Bende Federal Constituency of the State.

Obviously, Aguocha was pretending to respond to a recent interview where the deputy speaker called the State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti of the Labour Party (LP) to join the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) ahead of the 2027 general election, vowing that the party must win Abia in the next election.

While I have no issues with the federal lawmaker from LP disagreeing with Kalu on the submission, I am however worried by the total drift from the issue at stake to an unbridled display of envy and hate.

Reading between the lines, I could see a man who has been harbouring so much animosity against the person and the office of the deputy speaker. I could also see a man who was only waiting for an opportunity to pull the trigger and incidentally, one happened through the interview and he chose to lay bare his tongue to make lethal utterances.

To say the least, this is very unfortunate and mischievous too. My reading of the situation is that Hon. Obi Aguocha has shown he’s tired of pretending to be Kalu’s friend and ally and decided to show it in most brazenly manner. May I, again, remind, Aguocha that pretence is also not a virtue.

Come to think of it. In the real political sense, what is the offence of the deputy speaker? That he asked the governor of his state to return to his former political party? Come off it. Is that what anyone would do for his party?

May be, Obi Aguocha, a neophyte in political discourse needs some political education to know that Kalu by virtue of his position and the office is a national leader of our party and as such would at any time show predilection for the recruitment of new members into his party.

Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu is largely concerned about the development of the country. Abia State is a sub national government and Kalu, like any other leader from the area is also interested in the progress of the State. And so, the call to Governor Otti to join APC is purely in the economic interest of the State.

The implication of this is that, both leaders will join hands to work for the good and rapid development of the state.

From every conceivable stance, it is obvious that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has shown serious goodwill in Igbo Land with the recent signing into law of the South East Development Commission (SEDC) bill. And to an appreciable degree, Kalu who sponsored the bill has consciously demonstrated conspicuous affinity with the presidency in a way that will benefit Abia State and the entire south eastern political ecosystem and landscape.

If this can be happen when most of states in the region are in the opposition, it simply means that they can get more from people-oriented, interventionist projects of the federal government should they belong to the same political party. And this is largely what informed the call to the governor to join the progressive party.

So, Kalu’s comment tilts more towards economic growth of Abia State and by extension, the south east than the deduceable connotations for political manovering ahead of 2027 general elections.

Again, let it also be stated that Kalu wants the best for his state in terms of economic growth and development and nothing more. And because, Nigeria operates a political party system, it can only be natural for any leader of his position to call on his friends, one of whom is Dr. Alext Otti, the Governor of Abia who he said is doing well to join the APC.

| Ohajuruka is a former Acting Governor of Abia State and member of the House of Representatives. He writes from Umuahia