President of the Senate Ahmad Lawan has clarified why the seat of Orji Uzor Kalu was not declared vacant while in jail.
Recall that last December, the Senate Chief Whip was convicted and imprisoned for embezzling N7.1 billion of state funds when he was governor of Abia State.
Lawan, who explained why they refused to declare Orji Uzor Kalu ‘s seat vacant when Abia State leaders paid him a courtesy visit, said it was not only extraordinary but “the right and just thing for the Senate to do.” He added that no one could persuade the legislators to give someone else’s the seat because it was not vacant.
The Senate President said;
“He (Kalu) was on several appeals and until he exhausted all the opportunities available to him, that seat remained his seat. Similarly the position of the Chief Whip, we didn’t even appoint an acting Chief Whip. The Deputy Chief Whip continued to play that role until he was released.
“We came under pressure, of course. But we thought the right thing to do was to keep that seat, that position until he was able to get his judgement. It would have been premature, unjust and unfair to declare his seat vacant or his position to be given away because he was in that situation.
“So we didn’t do anything extraordinary really. We did what was right, what was just, what was necessary.”
