From Nnaya Eziyi, Umuahia
Bar Kalu Umeh, former Abia State Attorney-General and Commissioner for Justice
Abia North Stakeholders Assembly (ANSA), has opposed the aspiration of former Attorney- General and Commissioner for Justice of the state, Barr. Kalu Umeh for the 2023 governorship election.
President-General of the assembly, Chief Goodluck Ibem stated this in an interview with newsmen in Umuahia, the state capital, saying the assembly will stick to its guns even under pressure.
Ibem was reacting to an interview the erstwhile Attorney-General and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) granted the Sunday 16 July edition of a popular Lagos-based national tabloid.
He said after being in the corridors of power in the state for 12 years, Umeh cannot boast of any tangible and meaningful contributions he has made to the development of the state.
He accused Umeh of maximizing every opportunity, especially when there is minor political crises in the state for his own personal interest, saying it will no longer be business as usual for him.
He said; “A man of Umeh Kalu’s stature and standing, all things considered, does not stand any chance and should not be entrusted with any leadership position, even a councillorship position.”
He argued that the people would need to reflect on his past political adventures where he has ran for both party nominations and general elections without success to access whether Kalu was sellable for job.
“He suffers from political popularity issues. And little wonder, that he was only able to secure only one vote in 2019 when he again ran for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primaries to House of Representatives in Ohafia, his own backyard.”
The president-general critizied Umeh for condemning and calling on the Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Engr. Chinedum Orji for visiting Senator Orji Uzor Kalu in Abuja after he was released from prison.
“Umeh has been in the vanguard of those unjustly condemning the speaker for the visit. He alleged that the visit amounts to anti-party activity and lack of respect for the state governor, Okezie Ikpeazu'” he further related.
“For the record, the visit was not one in a coven or a clandestine kind but one knowledge on which is in the public domain. Why is he flogging a dead horse over the speaker’s choice of words?”
According to Ibem, Umeh indeed has a hidden agenda and motive and “Why is Umeh so much interested in what was said between two men whose meeting is a general knowledge?”
“If it was for addressing Kalu as a leader of the state and urging him to come take his rightful position that he harangues the speaker, what then does he understand by the word “patriarch” which he refered Kalu to in the interview?”
