The Office of the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, has rejected what it described as misleading claims by the Abia State Government regarding the execution of federal intervention projects in Bende Federal Constituency, calling for greater transparency and cooperation in the interest of development.
In a statement issued on January 29, 2026, and signed by the Deputy Speaker’s Chief Press Secretary, Levinus Nwabughiogu, the office accused aides of the Abia State Government of spreading misinformation aimed at discrediting the lawmaker and confusing the public over issues of land ownership and project execution.
The statement followed a recent press briefing by the Governor’s Chief Press Secretary, Ukoha Njoku Ukoha, on a parcel of land along the Umuahia–Bende Road reportedly earmarked for a federal government housing scheme facilitated by the Deputy Speaker.
According to Kalu’s office, the land was not allocated by the state government but was communally owned and voluntarily donated by the Umuoche community in Bende Local Government Area. The office maintained that the housing project was originally planned to be sited along the Umuahia–Bende–Ohafia corridor and that attempts were previously made to relocate it.
Addressing allegations that a school building in Bende was demolished to make way for a federal project, the statement described the claim as inaccurate. It explained that the Deputy Speaker had planned to build a smart examination centre on a site occupied by a decades-old, dilapidated mud structure, after earlier improving the school with new classrooms and perimeter fencing.
The office further stated that a state government contractor later requested to use the same location for a state-led smart school project, a request the Deputy Speaker eventually granted to promote cooperation and avoid conflict.
On healthcare infrastructure, the statement highlighted a 50-bed hospital project in Eluokwe Community School, Amaukwu Igbere, facilitated by the Deputy Speaker following appeals from seven communities in Igbere Ward B that lacked access to a functional health facility.
It clarified that legislators do not supervise the execution of such projects, noting that implementation is handled by relevant federal agencies, while alleging that construction was temporarily halted after the project supervisor was arrested by state agents.
Despite the disagreements, the Deputy Speaker’s office commended Governor Alex Otti for approving the allocation of land in Umuahia for the construction of an Industrial Court, another project attributed to the lawmaker’s intervention.
The statement concluded by urging peaceful coexistence between federal and state authorities, stressing that development should be driven by partnership rather than political rivalry, and called on the Abia State Government to prioritize collaboration for the benefit of Ndi Abia.
