A support group in the ruling All Progressives Congress, the Progressive League of Youth Voters, has distanced itself from allegations of anti-party activities against the Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Benjamin Kalu.
The group, at a press conference on Wednesday, in Abuja, said it neither dragged Kalu to Alhaji Abdullahi Ganduje, the APC national chairman, or President Bola Tinubu.
The APC youths further disowned one Amb. Usman Shuaibu, describing him as an imposter and its former member who was expelled over fraudulent activities.
In a statement jointly signed by Mallam Ibrahim Kabiru Tijani and Comrade Adamu Adamu, its president, and secretary respectively, the group, therefore, warned the unsuspecting public to be wary of Shuaibu whose stock in trade is blackmail.
Describing Rt Hon. Kalu as a pillar of youth and a firm disciple of President Tinubu, the group noted that the Deputy Speaker is committed to the ruling party and did not at any point engage in anti-party for any reason.
The statement, however, assured Nigerians that Kalu remains focused on his legislative pursuit and quest to bring development, peace, and prosperity to citizens.
In clear terms, it said that the Deputy Speaker would not meddle in the petty politics of sponsoring a campaign of calumny against his fellow party faithful.
“It has come to our attention that one Usman Shuaibu issued a vain press statement accusing the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt Hon. Benjamin Kalu of anti-party activities,” the statement partly reads.
“We also learned that the attention of the APC leadership and President Tinubu was drawn to call the Deputy Speaker to order. While ordinarily, we would have ignored these attention seekers, we are duty-bound to put the records straight as the hard-earned reputation of our organization and that of a respected leader has been brought into disrepute.
“First, the said Usman Shuaibu is not a member of our group. He was expelled over fraudulent behaviour when he tried to swindle unsuspecting fans of Asiwaju whilst claiming to be campaigning for the President but took to the acquisition of landed properties.
“We are worried that he is still in the same business of blackmail, campaign of calumny, and extortion. He has not learned.
“It is, however, unfortunate that the highly-revered Deputy Speaker is his next target. But thankfully, we have sufficient facts to counter all his dark arts and dirty tricks.
“It is glaring that Rt Hon. Kalu is one of the shining lights of the 10th National Assembly. He has sponsored the most bills in the House of Reps and has excellently stepped in for the Speaker on numerous occasions.
“As a youth group, we are proud of him and his achievements so far. He is a man on a mission and has remained focused on the people-oriented agenda of the 10th House. Is it the kind of man who will go low to engage in dirty politics?
“We are by this press statement urging the unsuspecting public to be wary of Shuaibu and his likes who are out to tarnish the image of innocent and well-placed Nigerians. We challenge them to provide proof to back their claims.
“Meanwhile, we want to urge the Deputy Speaker to remain focused and ignore distractions. The Nigerian youths are behind him”.