Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, has made it clear that he sees it as his rightful opportunity to ascend to the position of President of the Nigerian Senate. He made this known to the press at the National Assembly on March 21, confirming his intention to vie for the third-ranked position in the country.
Having secured re-election to represent Abia North in the Senate, Kalu emphasized
“If I’m elected Senate President, I will be team Nigeria. I’m going to work for every corner of Nigeria. I schooled in Maiduguri, Borno State. I started my business in Lagos and spread it across all state capitals. My first name will be team Nigeria, my last name will be team Nigeria.
Remember, I’m the only former governor who has never changed phone line more than 20 years ago. I will still be willing to maintain that telephone number to answer all my calls. I’m not going to switch off my phones because I’m Senate President. I’m hoping that Nigerians will pray for me to become Senate President because it’s my turn.” he expressed
The 10th National Assembly is set to be inaugurated in June this year. The ruling APC still holds the majority in the Senate, securing 57 seats. Besides Kalu, who has publicly declared his interest in the position, other individuals like Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom), Sani Musa (Niger), Barau Jibrin (Kano), and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) have also been reportedly eyeing the seat. Political analysts speculate that the ruling party may assign the seat to the South and a Christian to maintain a political balance, given that the President-elect and Vice-President-elect are both Muslims, hailing from the South West and North East, respectively.
Some observers believe that the APC might opt to allocate the post to the South, especially following the controversy stirred by the Muslim-Muslim ticket, particularly within the Christian community, as a means of power equilibrium.