NASS Speakership: We Were Not Handpicked By Tinubu – Kalu

All Progressives Congress (APC) favourite for the position of the deputy speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Benjamin Kalu, has said the president-elect, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, did not handpick any of them for the leadership position of the Green Chamber.

He said it was the ruling party that selected them based on their qualifications.

Kalu, who made the clarification last night on Channels Television programme, said the party consulted the president-elect and the vice president-elect to come to the decision of choosing them for the positions, because they are major takeholders in the administration of the party.

He said it would be wrong for anybody to say that they were handpicked by Tinubu, adding that if a decision is to be taken, that decisions will be taken by the stakeholders.

Kalu said, “So, to say handpick, No, Bola Tinubu did not handpick me. That is a wrong way to say you are being handpicked, it is not true. They are not making any demands from us. We know our mandate because the constitutional mandate is clear on the responsibility of the legislature.

“Nobody will tell us what to do. We understand the borderlines of the doctrine of separation of power and we will know even though we understand that we have three arms of government, that we are pursuing one objective, but we must respect the borderlines of the doctrine of separation of powers in the interest of Nigeria,” he said.

Kalu said that they will continue to speak to other aggrieved candidates until they buy into the party’s decision.

He said, “You know, this is democracy and all the people who have shown interest in the contest are all well qualified to run for this position. And all we can do is when it has pointed to the direction it has pointed, many will be aggrieved.

“What we are doing is deliberately taking steps towards making these members buy into the party’s position,” he said.

On the current supporters he has, Kalu said, “Well, we have over 250 with us at the moment, but our goal is to cut across various political majorities.”