Benjamin Okezie Kalu, is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jour ...

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and a member of the

House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entitles. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often c ...

in the

9th Nigeria National Assembly The 9th National Assembly of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is a bicameral legislature inaugurated on 11 June 2019 and the assembly will run its course until 11 June 2023. Principal Officers Senate Presiding officers Majority leadership ...

, representing Bende federal constituency,

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to the ...

. He is currently the spokesperson of the House of Representatives and the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs.

Life, education and political career

Benjamin Okezie Kalu graduated from the

University of Calabar The University of Calabar is a public university, public List of universities in Nigeria, university situated in Calabar, Cross River State, Nigeria. It is one of Nigeria's second generation federal universities. The University of Calabar was a ...

, where he served as a student representative at twenty three years. At twenty nine years, he served as the national chapter of the PDP in diaspora. He served as the youngest local government chairman of Bende,

, Nigeria at the age of thirty one. At thirty four years, he served as the senior special adviser to the then governor of Abia State

Orji Uzor Kalu Orji Uzor Kalu (born 21 April 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessperson who is a Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, He also serves as the Chief Whip of the House of Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria. He served as the ...

on local government and chieftaincy affairs, before becoming the senior special adviser to the governor on

Millennium Development Goals The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...

and international relations at the age of thirty five. Kalu started his political career in 2002 by contesting for the House of Representatives primaries and losing to Mbah Ajah. In 2011 and 2015, he contested for the

election, representing

Progressive Peoples Alliance The Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) is a political party in Nigeria. The party won gubernatorial elections in 2003 and 2007 in Abia State. The party also won the governorship election in 2007 in Imo State. The Governor of Abia State is Chie ...

at that time, but lost in both elections. On 23 February 2019, Kalu, representing the ruling

All Progressives Congress The All Progressives Congress (APC) is one of the two major contemporary political parties in Nigeria, along with the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Founded on 6 February 2013 from a merger of Nigeria's three largest opposition parties, the ...

defeated

Chima Anyaso Chima Anyaso (born Chimaobi Desmond Anyaso) is a Nigerian entrepreneur, politician and hotelier popularly known for his foray in the Nigerian downstream oil and gas sector. Early life and education Anyaso had his undergraduate and post graduat ...

of the

People's Democratic Party People's Democratic Party or ''variant thereof'', could refer to: * People's Democratic Party of Afghanistan *People's Democratic Party (Belize) *People's Democratic Party (Bhutan) *People's Democratic Party (Chile) * People's Democratic Party (Dom ...

and won the seat to represent Bende federal constituency,

in the House of Representatives. He received 9,138 votes, while Anyaso received 5,591 votes. Anyaso rejected the result of the election and challenged the victory of Kalu in the National and State Assembly Election Petitions tribunal, citing irregularities in the election. On 29 August 2019, the tribunal dismissed the petition for lacking merit and upheld the election of Kalu. After losing at the tribunal, Anyaso appealed the case at the Imo State Appeal court, Owerri. On 28 October 2019, the Appeal court upheld Kalu's election. Kalu is currently the spokesperson of the House of Representatives and the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs.

Personal life

Kalu is from Bende, Abia State, Nigeria. He is married with 5 children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Kalu, Benjamin Living people People from Abia State All Progressives Congress politicians Abia State politicians Nigerian political candidates University of Calabar alumni Year of birth missing (living people)