Community leaders from various towns in Bende Local Government Area have appealed to traditional institutions to step in and resolve the escalating political conflict between two prominent sons of the region: Senator Orji Uzor Kalu and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu.
During a visit to Eze Anthony Okorochukwu, the monarch of Bende ancient kingdom, the elders—led by former LGA chairman Emmanuel Onwuchekwa—asked the royal fathers to counsel the former Abia governor against continuing his rift with the Deputy Speaker. They urged him to embrace peace for the sake of unity.
The elders emphasized that Benjamin Kalu is not obstructing Senator Kalu’s ambition to run for the Senate in the 2027 elections. “Ben is not standing in the way of Senator Orji Uzor Kalu’s senatorial bid,” they said. “They are vying for separate positions. So why such hostility? We want no conflict between Igbere and Bende. There has been enough of this.”