Dr Bashir Lamido, the leader of a Northern Think Tank, Arewa Summit International, has said that Nigeria needs a trailblazer like Senator Orji Uzor Kalu to emerge as the 10th Senate President to help stablise the country.
He called on the President-elect , Asiwaju Ahmed Bola Tinubu, and the All Progressives Congress to adopt Kalu as the consensus candidate ahead of June 13 Senate inauguration
According to him, the combination of the Senate Chief Whip as the Senate President, Kashim Shettima, and Ahmed Bola Tinubu as Vice President and President respectively would help save the country from drifting to a divided state.
Lamido, in a statement personally signed by him on Friday, warned the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) not to field a Northern Muslim as the 10th Senate President for peace and national stability.
He also urged other aspirants for the position of the Senate President, especially from the Southeast geopolitical zone, to step down and rally round the current Chief Whip of the Senate to emerge unopposed.
Bashir maintained that this was necessary as “the country is in a big trouble and only a Senator like Orji Kalu is needed to work with the President-elect, Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Vice, Kassim Shettima to stablise the country.”
“I am Northern Muslim and a passionate Nigerian. We must support the President-elect, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu to succeed as our new president.
“In doing so, it is important we have a Senate President that understands the country; this is where Senator Orji Uzor Kalu should come in. He should be supported to emerge as the next Senate President to support Tinubu and Shettima for the interest of our dear nation.
“Senator Orji Kalu fits the bill to lead the Senate as its presiding officer in the next dispensation from all material angles. He has the competence, capability, and capacity to mobilise, coordinate, and provide the much needed leadership that delivers results for effective legislative governance and oversight for the country.
“Senator Orji Kalu understands the needs and aspirations of all regions of the country. He hails from the South-East, educated in Northern Nigeria city of Maiduguri, Borno state and built his businesses in the southwest” city of Lagos.
“As Governor of Abia state from 1999 to 2007, he had aides from across Nigeria’s ethnic groups. Currently, as Senate Whip and Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, Abia state, his aides cut across all ethnic groups and religious divides.
“Senator Kalu is cosmopolitan in outlook; adapts at managing Nigeria’s creative diversity as well as strategic leadership traits that deliver results. He is the committed patriot that we need at this point of our nation’s history. It is important for Senators-elect across the party lines to support, vote, and elect Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as the next Senate President, he stated.”
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