Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives and member representing Bende Federal Constituency of Abia State, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu has appealed to the people of South East to support the administration of President Bola Tinubu, saying the president is interested in the region’s development.
Speaking virtually on the ‘South East Political Roundtable’, a current affairs radio programme on FLO FM in Umuahia on Tuesday monitored by AbnTV, the Deputy Speaker expressed concern on the continuous detention of the leader of Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), Mazi Nnamdi Kanu, saying his release is achievable.
He said the President needs to be convinced that the people of South East have realized that he (Tinubu) did not contribute anything to Nnamdi Kanu’s incarceration, urging that the government should be supported.
Kalu is also the initiator of the recently unveiled Peace In South East Project (PISE-P), a non-kinetic approach to achieving peace in the region.
“We are working underground. There’s a detailed strategy. It’s not by violence, you can’t coerce the government through violence. It has never worked and won’t work. Let’s be wiser. The wisdom is in peace. Let’s quench the violence.
“If it’s chaotic, it won’t work. Let’s cool down. Let the man see that you’ve recognised he didn’t contribute to locking him up and that he has not done anything to the southeast. We should support him and his government and not attack him.
“I’m standing firmly against the voice of violence, preaching peace. That is what I’m here for, this voice of peace will echo through the Villa and he will come out. Mr President was happy with what happened in Bende. That the whole country can gather together and support this project”, he said.
The Supreme Court has recently ordered the retrial of Nnamdi Kanu at the High Court for terrorism despite being in detention since 2021 after his extraordinary rendition from Kenya.
The Deputy Speaker also expressed concern that the Monday sit-at-home protest over Nnamdi Kanu’s detention is inflicting injury in the economy of South East region, noting that it scares investors.
