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In the buildup to the APC presidential primary, President-elect Tinubu made the famous declaration ‘Emi lo kan’.
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The Yoruba phrase translates to ‘It is my turn.’
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Orji Kalu has now made the same declaration in the race for the senate presidency.
Eko Hot Blog reports that the Chief Whip of the Senate, Orji Kalu, has declared his intention to contest for Senate presidency in the 10th National Assembly.
Kalu who won re-election to represent Abia North in the Red Chamber in February 25 election.
The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) maintained a majority in the Senate, having secured 57 seats.
APC senators eyeing the Senate presidency have been lobbying their colleagues to seek their support.
Aside from Kalu, who has publicly declared interest in the position, Godswill Akpabio (Akwa Ibom); Sani Musa (Niger); Barau Jibrin (Kano); and Dave Umahi (Ebonyi) are also said to be interested in running for the coveted office.
Although there have been speculations that the final candidates for the position will largely be determined by zoning, the APC leadership said it has not zoned it.
Some pundits believe that it is likely that APC might zone the post to the South for power balance, especially after its Muslim-Muslim ticket triggered outrage from some quarters, especially the Christian community.
Speaking to reporters on Tuesday at the National Assembly, Kalu said it is his turn to be Senate president, being a ranking lawmaker and from the South East.
“It is my turn to become the Senate President. If I’m elected Senate President, I will be team Nigeria. I’m going to work in every corner of Nigeria,” he said.
“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 for more than 20 years ago. I’m still 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.”
His call echoes the famous declaration of President-elect Bola Tinubu when he was seeking the APC presidential ticket in May 2022.
Tinubu famously said “emi lo kan (it is my turn)” before he won the primary election.
Meanwhile, Kalu was convicted by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court in December 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for N7.65 billion fraud.
He was convicted for defrauding the government of Abia State where he was a governor for 8 years using his company, Slok Nigeria Limited.
However, in May 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that his trial was wrongly conducted and released him from prison while ordering a retrial.
Notably, the apex court did not release him based on the merit of the case; it freed him because trial judge should not have been in charge of the case because of his elevation to the Court of Appeal.
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