There is a familiar pattern in public life. When real work begins to show results, mischief is never far behind.
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Okezie Kalu, is charting a serious and deliberate course in national leadership. His record speaks clearly. And that record is now being tested—not by facts, but by fabrication.
For the first time, the South East has produced a Deputy Speaker with a visible, consequential legislative footprint. Hon. Kalu has treated the office not as a title, but as a responsibility.
He championed and secured passage of the South East Development Commission Bill—a long-overdue response to decades of infrastructural and economic neglect. That achievement alone altered the region’s standing in national development planning.
Through the Peace in South East Project (PISE-P), he has advanced a sober, non-violent approach to insecurity. Not rhetoric. Not grandstanding. Practical engagement rooted in dialogue and local ownership.
He has also conducted his role with restraint and strategic clarity, helping to rebuild trust between the South East and the centre. Quiet work. Tangible outcomes.
It is therefore disappointing but not surprising that faceless actors now circulate a bowed-head photograph, attaching to it words Rep. Benjamin Okezie Kalu never spoke, suggesting a premature and imaginary political ambition for 2027.
One must ask:
Who heard these words?
Where were they spoken?
And why do they exist only in anonymous corners of the internet?
These fabrications would ordinarily deserve no response. But when silence risks being mistaken for assent, clarity becomes necessary.
From close interaction and direct knowledge, Hon. Benjamin Kalu remains fully focused on his constitutional duties. He is disciplined. Deliberate. Unmoved by idle speculation. His attention is fixed on national service, not future distractions.
Attempts to manufacture tension between him and Governor Alex Otti are both dishonest and reckless. The Governor is performing his mandate. The Deputy Speaker is excelling in his. Abia State benefits from both.
The future of the state lies in effective leadership, not manufactured rivalries. Not in anonymous propaganda. Not in fictional headlines.
Nigeria needs leaders who are working.
Not noise merchants trading in imagination.
Not early politics dressed up as prayer.
Let it also be emphasized that Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu’s foremost political priority at this moment is the success of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. He is fully invested in supporting the President’s Renewed Hope Agenda, not just in word, but in action. Through initiatives like the Renewed Hope Partners platform, he is working to educate, engage, and mobilize citizens to understand and benefit from the policies of the current administration.
Whether through strengthening the legislature to deliver on national goals, or ensuring Abia State continues to benefit from constructive federal alignment, Hon. Kalu’s commitment is strategic, active, and deliberate. In his political diary, supporting the President and delivering for the people remain front and center.
The record is clear. The facts are firm. And the work continues.
