The Coalition of South East Youth Leaders (COSEYL) has condemned the alleged conspiracy by APC national leader Bola Tinubu, Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe that led to the incarceration of a former governor of Abia, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu.
This was contained in a statement made available to Igbere TV on Wednesday, in Abuja, issued by Hon. Goodluck Egwu Ibem and Comr. Kanice Igwe, President-General and Secretary-General of the COSEYL respectively.
The statement reads, “It has come to the knowledge of Coalition of South-East Youth Leaders (COSEYL), the news making the rounds within the media spaces, of the politically motivated machinations that culminated in the unlawful incarceration, for six months, of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, former governor of Abia state and a serving senator representing Abia North senatorial zone.
“The Coalition is aware of the latest release by the office assistant to Ibrahim Magu, former acting chairman of the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Mohammed Lawal, asserting that indeed the recent travails of Senator Kalu had a political leaning, 2023 ambition among other issues given. Mr. Mohammed Lawal was bold to tell the world that Vice President Osinbajo and Tinubu – both who had been the mainstay of Magu who couldn’t scale the legislative screenng hurdle – have a hand in the whole plot.
“Afraid of Kalu’s towering influence within the South-East leadership of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Emeka Ofor, Senator Ken Nnamani had aligned with Tinubu-Osibanjo axis to outdo, outflank and outmaneuver their own brother, Kalu. While Ofor and Nnamani had in mind to mar and ground Kalu regionally, another twist to it, this time from within Kalu’s home state of Abia was equally exposed. Former deputy governor who served with Kalu and now a serving senator, Enyinnaya Abaribe was said to have merged with these anti-Kalu politicians simply for his gubernatorial ambition and again, to carry out his personal vendetta against Kalu.
“While Ofor and Nnamani work allegedly towards countering Orji from dominating party structure within the region, Abaribe worked, as Mohammed Lawal apprises us, to foil Orji within the state – Abia.
“The Coalition frowns at this and wonders much why a son of the South-East should, at any rate, aval himself to such political enterprise. More worrisome to the Coalition is the silence of Osinbajo and Tinubu ever since Lawal’s startling revelation came to light. For the record, Lawal related how his boss, Magu, the beleaguered and former anti-corruption Czar was dancing to the Tinubu-Osinbajo tune in seeing to it that Kalu goes down. Lawal revealed that from 2.1 billion naira, Kalu’s purported loot was jerked up to over 7 billion naira. Here, Lawal tells us that his boss, Magu, met with Osinbajo and Tinubu with Kalu’s file whereupon the figure was more than doubled!
“The Coalition wishes to remind men like Emeka Ofor and Ken Nnamani that it is aware of this revelation and is watching. The Coalition is for peace within South-East and will use its good offices and all means within the law to ensure same. The Coalition calls on Abaribe, Ofor and Nnamani to think twice if at all their hands are in this ugly affair. As an umbrella body of all youth organizations in the region, we shall be ready to do all to stop this politics of “dog eat dog” playing out in the region now. The named actors owe the Coalition a refute to this allegation by Lawal if they have no skeleton in their cupboard.
“Politics is a game of numbers, of popularity also. It is behoveful that those who fear Kalu’s meteoric rise should face him at the pools if and when he contests for any national or state position than use the EFCC or the court to an unlawful end, otherwise how can one explain away the fact that Justice Mohammed Idris does not enjoy nor has he any legality whatsoever in trying and hearing Kalu’s case at the appellate court?
“Now that the real conspirators of Senator Kalu’s unlawful incarceration have been revealed, we demand thorough investigation and prosecution of all those involved and any one found culpable should face the music.”
The South East Youth Leaders Coalition, however, called for caution on the part of all interests, adding that “politics is not about rancour nor is it a do or die affair.”
