The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, on Sunday, launched the “Food for Peace Programme”, as he stepped up his advocacy for peace in the South-East zone.
He said that the launch of the initiative would be taken round the remaining states in the region.
He also used the festive season to give food, cash and other items to citizens across Abia State. For instance, in Umuahia North Local Government Area (LGA), the Deputy Speaker gifted pieces of wrapper, cartons of Spaghetti, bags of rice, cartons of power oil, bags of beans, bags of garri and cash price.
The other 16 LGAs in Abia State also enjoyed similar gestures. “This our DS (Deputy Speaker) is too good o”, the beneficiaries chanted across the state.
“Our best appreciation to the DS for putting smiles on the faces of Abians. Your cash gifts, loads of rice, wrapper, Indomie noodles, motorcycles, grounding machines, sewing machines just to mention a few to our APC party faithfuls in Abia is incredible, outstanding, humongous and amazing. May God replenish you and grant you more wisdom, grace, favour and abundant blessing. Thank God for giving you to Abia and Nigeria”, they further said.
“This is the first time an initiative that touches the people is conceived and executed in the region. And it no doubt shows the humanity in the Deputy Speaker”, a security scholar with the Nasarawa State University, Dr. Jerry Nwohu said.
At the flag-off, which took place during a meeting with All Progressives Congress (APC) stakeholders from the 17 Local Government Areas of Abia State in his Bende country home, Kalu described the programme as an integral part of the recently unveiled Peace in the South-East Project (PISE-P).
PISE-P, which advocates a non-kinetic approach to peace in the region, was unveiled by President Bola Tinubu on 29th December 2023.
The Deputy Speaker said that PISE-P was meant to help provide food for the people of the region, whose economy and means of livelihood were heavily impacted by insecurity, heightened by the sit-at-home order every Monday.
He said that the initiative had received resounding support from eminent Nigerians, including industrialists, business moguls and corporate organisations, who had made substantial financial and material donations toward its success.
According to him, many organisations and donor agencies that believe in the South-East have shown interest to assist in rebuilding the region from the economic ruins occasioned by insecurity.
The Deputy Speaker also said that subsequent phases of the intervention for the return of enduring peace in the region would be on agriculture, education and health, amongst others.
“The launch will move round the entire states in the region showing love to the people and keeping their hope alive, in line with the Renewed Hope Initiative of the President. You should take the message of peace to the churches, villages and communities and also promote peace and unity within the party at the ward, local government and state levels”, he said.
He charged the stakeholders to embark on membership drive and also reach out to estranged members with a view to reconciling them back to the party.
He challenged them to strengthen the party at the various levels and assured them of his readiness to provide the necessary assistance to make APC the dominant party in Abia and South-East in general.
He thanked the stakeholders for obliging him the APC platform to run for the election, adding that he also worked hard to withstand the Labour Party’s ‘tsunami’ that characterised the general elections in Abia.
He recalled how gunmen, allegedly sponsored by his rivals, attacked and riddled his campaign office with bullets during the campaign in an attempt to stop him.
He thanked God that his aid who was present at the time of the attack escaped unhurt.
The Deputy Speaker also announced the passage of the South-East Development Commission Bill in the House of Representatives.
He said that he personally undertook the drafting of the bill and lobbied his colleagues to buy-in into it.
He said that the bill had the potential of addressing the question of the alleged marginalisation of the region, when it becomes an Act.
Kalu said: “The provisions of the bill make it unapologetically clear that the resources of the Federal Government will be utilised to reconstruct the South-East. After the civil war in 1970, we have not experienced the reconstruction of the region from the ruins of the country’s 30-month-old civil war.
“Moreover, it will help to create jobs for our teeming unemployed youths and also address the underdevelopment and obvious deficit in physical infrastructure in the region”.
Major highlights of the meeting were the reception of scores of new members, who defected from the Peoples Democratic Party and Young Progressives Party to APC and distribution of food items, including rice, noodles and spaghetti, and economic empowerment materials to his constituents.
Since its inception, the Kalu Food for Peace Project has worked towards alleviating hunger and promoting peace through sustainable food initiatives. Through strategic partnerships, community engagement, and unwavering dedication, the project has made a tangible and meaningful impact on the lives of countless individuals, offering them not just sustenance, but also a sense of hope and solidarity.
