It's my turn to be President of the Senate - Orji Kalu

Senate Chief Whip Orji Uzor Kalu has expressed interest in becoming Speaker of Nigeria's 10th Senate if the post is zoned southeast by the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Mr. Uzor-Kalu said so when he spoke to reporters in Abuja on Tuesday.

The 10th National Assembly will be inaugurated in June.

"I would like the party to zone him in my zone, in my village in Igbere because the elected president needs high level people to straighten out the economy and work for the masses and make laws that will allow him to revolve around the economy.

"This because I am an economic person, an entrepreneur," he said.

The former governor of Abia said he was the most qualified senator for the job based on Senate rules as well as his pedigree.

"The Senate has rules. Let me be honest with you, if we practice true democracy, I shouldn't be in competition with anyone, because apart from the President of the Senate, the Deputy President of the Senate , the leader of the Senate, I am the next member of the Senate to pass through the position I hold today in the 9th Senate.

"It is virtually impossible for the Senate to elect or zone a new member of the Senate.

“The Senate is an established institution that needs someone with experience, someone with the skills and who will be able to relate to themselves,” Kalu said.

He commended the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for the conduct of the 2023 general elections, adding however that no election in the world was perfect.

"We have some shortcomings, there is no perfect democracy, but we must move forward, INEC has done the job it can do, it is up to us as legislators to tighten the noose in the law where there were errors and make the necessary changes to the electoral law.

"And I want you journalists to highlight the shortcomings," Kalu said.

He said the president-elect, once sworn in, would stand firm in ensuring good governance, and would also stand firm with the 10th assembly to amend the constitution to implement an electronic voting process and remove red tape during the elections. .

"For me, no election is perfect and the president-elect talks about fairness and he will work with the National Assembly in accordance with human rights to solve the problems of economy, electoral processes, police and security and address issues around our electoral processes,” he said.

Mr. Kalu said he was part of the Nigeria team and would always be there for Nigerians at all times.

“And I hope Nigerians will pray for me to be President of the Senate because it is my turn,” he said.

(NAN)

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