9th Senate: What Orji Uzor Kalu Told Goje, Ndume To Do

A former Governor of Abia State, southeast Nigeria and Senator-elect, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has called on the duo of senators Danjuma Goje and Ali Ndume who are in the race for the position of the Senate President of the 9th Nigerian Senate to return to the discussion table as a family.

Naija News understands that Kalu made this statement when he endorsed Senate Leader, Senator Ahmed Lawan, for the position of the Senate President on Sunday, May 26.

His words:  “My advice is that they should come back and let us discuss as a family. It is only one person that will be Senate President,” Kalu added.

Kalu, a member of the House of Representatives during the Third Republic, further said as the oldest member of the National Assembly in the 9th Senate, he would be the doyen of the 9th Senate.

“I am going to be the oldest member. Not by age, by sitting in the National Assembly which Senator Jubril Barau just reminded me now, because I was in the House of Reps before them. If people like Senator Kwankwaso were coming back, it would have been a different case. In 1991, I was a member of the National Assembly.

“So, I am going to be the doyen of the Senate. The only person we have that could have competed with me is in the House of Representatives; he is the Chief Whip of the House of Reps now – Alhassan Donguwa. Since he is not in the Senate, I am the doyen of the National Assembly. So, they must listen to me; they must also respect me as the oldest person who has been there before all of them,” Kalu also said.

On why he endorsed Lawan, Kalu said having lived with Lawan in the same room for more than a year, he saw nothing bad in endorsing his ambition to become the President of the Senate.

His words: “Honestly, I don’t see why I should leave Lawan. You know many years ago, he was my roommate in the University of Maiduguri and we lived in the same room for almost one and half years and I don’t see why I will not go with him,” Kalu said.

The former Abia governor said aside from his endorsement of Lawan, the Senate Leader is also the choice of the National Working Committee of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Nigeria’s ruling party and the leader of the party, President Muhammadu Buhari.

“All our governors that are very vibrant are also endorsing him. The Progressive Governors’ Forum has endorsed him, so who am I? I am just one of the senators from Abia State. So, I am sure all our ministers have also endorsed him,” Kalu added.