Anti-Corruption Group Condemns Senate For Not Declaring Kalu’s Seat Vacant

The Centre for Anti-Corruption and Open Leadership CACOL, has condemned the Nigerian Senate for refusing to declare the seat of the Abia state Senator who also doubles as the Chip Whip in the senate, Senator Orji Kalu, vacant.

It could be recalled that a Federal High Court had convicted the former Abia State Governor on the allegations bordering on embezzlement of public fund to the tune of N7.1bn and sentenced to 12 years’ imprisonment.

The Executive Director of CACOL, Debo Adeniran, disclosed this to newsmen during an interview over the weekend.

Adeniran said, “The former governors in the Senate behave like a cult and he is within that group. His colleagues have enormous resources with which they can sway decisions to the side of the corrupt people.

“That is why the Senate could be talking the way it is talking. Ordinarily, if a senator does not attend to the business of the Senate for a number of days, his seat should naturally be declared vacant.”

He noted that the moment a person was convicted and imprisoned; such a person should be removed from society until release.

According to him, such a person is not supposed to participate in any social process, not to mention political process.

The CACOL boss added, “Would the Senate be saying he is representing the senatorial district that voted him in? Would it say he is doing Senate business from behind the (prison) walls? It is immoral, unjustifiable and an indication that our senators are not fighting corruption.

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“Rather, they are encouraging corruption and actually compensating those who engage in corrupt practices. That exactly is what they want to do by paying Orji Kalu, even when he is not performing the senatorial function that was entrusted to him.

“It is unfair, unwarranted and lacks all sense of dignity. It is uncalled for and I believe that Nigerians will not rest until the Senate becomes saner. Right now, they are in a world of their own where corruption doesn’t mean anything negative.”

According to Adeniran, the senators feel no shame for their colleagues who have been found guilty of corruption.

“Rather, they feel proud of them and support such acts by compensating them with salaries and allowances that they do not deserve,” he added.