Kalu: I’ll Withdraw from Senate Presidency Race on Tinubu’s Request

Orji Uzor Kalu, the Chief Whip of the Senate, announced on Tuesday that he would withdraw from the presidential race of the 10th National Assembly if Bola Tinubu, the President-Elect, requested him to do so.

The Chief Whip made this statement during a briefing with State House reporters after a meeting with President Muhammadu Buhari regarding his ambition to become the next Senate President.

He informed the President of his intention but received no response. He stated that, as a party man, he remained hopeful despite not receiving any assurances.

Kalu emphasized that he could be stopped by those in the big league, even though he declared that it was his turn to be the solution to the search for the South-East Senate President.

During his private meeting with the President, Kalu suggested that the party’s Board of Trustees be revived, and the President as Chairman can remain part of the conscience of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He noted that this is essential so members can have someone to turn to when problems arise and asserted that only God saved the party from protracted rancour that threatened to divide the party.

“It is just God that saved our party because the quarrel and rancour inside the party is so much. The party should bring back our Board of Trustees or something that looks like it so that Mr President will be Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the party so that every four or five months, he will come and see how the party is doing,” Kalu said.

We cannot just leave the party empty-handed. The President will still be part of the conscience of the party so that we will have somebody to run to when we have problems in the party.

“It is just God that saved our party, that is the truth because the quarrel and rancour inside the party are so much. We need a man like President Buhari to be around every three or four months, we’ll go and drag him from Daura and he will settle party matters.”