Group Dismisses Petition Against Deputy Speaker Kalu As Frivolous, Contemptuous
Igbo Mandate Movement Group (IMMG), a Civil Society Organisation (CSO) has described the petition filed against Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu as frivolous, mischievous and Contemptuous.
Recall that Mr John Aikpokpo-Martins, a former First Vice President of the Nigerian Bar Association had petitioned the Legal Practitioners’ Disciplinary Committee and the National Youth Service Corps.
Aikpokpo-Martins is asking for a review of records relating to Kalu’s professional qualifications and national service history.
The group in a Statement signed by its National Coordinator, Arinze-Napoleon Igboeli on Monday dismissed the petition as politically motivated and the latest episode in what it considered as a years-long campaign to sabotage the career of the lawmaker.
Igboeli said the petition followed a pattern of credential challenges that have trailed Kalu at every stage of political progression.
IMM recalled that when Kalu was nominated as a Commissioner in Abia State, his detractors claimed that he had never graduated from the University of Calabar.
He said the claim was proven wrong when Kalu went ahead to obtain an LL.M and a Ph.D from the same institution and later delivered the 50th Anniversary Convocation Lecture of the same university.
The group also said when Kalu contested to represent Bende Federal Constituency, it was alleged he did not serve the country as an NYSC member and that his certificate was forged but then NYSC Director-General gave him a clean bill of health through a letter.
“The same forces of retrogression have returned with yet another iteration of the same discredited narrative,” it said.
IMMG said there was no substance in the current petition and explained that after graduating from the University of Calabar in 1998, Kalu like many others could not go to law school immediately because the country operated only Law School in Lagos and Abuja.
It said the backlog left many law graduates waiting years for admission during which Kalu travelled abroad to acquire further qualifications.
They said upon his return to Nigeria and mobilisation for NYSC service year in 2010, his admission into Law School came and he did both assignments simultaneously as the locations were close.
The group said Kalu distinguished himself academically that he was among the three students selected to serve on the research team of the then Director-General of the Nigerian Law School, the eminent Prof. Ernest Ojukwu.
“Upon returning to Nigeria and being mobilised for NYSC in 2010, he was posted to the Enugu North Local Government Area and served in the office of the Chairman.
“He participated fully in camp activities, emerged as a Platoon Leader, and was decorated with the Citizenship and Leadership Award.
“At the same time by a sheer coincidence, his long-awaited Law School admission arrived, placing him at the Enugu Campus in Agbani, just a few kilometers away from his NYSC place of primary assignment.
“His primary assignment schedule was organised to allow him to discharge his LGA duties before attending Law School classes, he met the monthly NYSC clearance requirements, and exceeded the mandatory 70 percent Law School attendance threshold,” he said.
IMMG argued that any NYSC declarations which critics sought to invoke were prospective in nature and could not be applied retroactively to Kalu’s 2010 service.
According to the group, Laws are not retroactive in nature.
The group called for urgent policy reform to address the challenge of large number of law graduates who were awaiting admission into Law school for save others from facing the ordeal of Kalu.
“We demand a legislative response that ensures law graduates can access the Law School in due time and that corps members in the legal profession are not punished for navigating a broken system with initiative and good faith.
“The LPDC and NYSC should treat the petition with the contempt it deserves
“Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu deserves commendation,” it said.
