With twenty five legislative bills standing in his name Senator Orji Uzor Kalu A first time Senator from Abia State who made his pioneer entry to the Senate in 2019 has been rated highest in Bill sponsorship amongst other Senators from the South Eastern state and his peers who are Former Governors at the 9th Senate.
As reported on Tuesday by OrderPaper.ng Nigeria’s verified parliamentary multimedia platform, Kalu a new comer Senator has sponsored more bills at the Nation’s Apex parliament than his Abia State counterparts.
Using the 2019 – 2022 cumulative legislative tenure of the 9th Senate and Kalu’s bills, the Senate Chief Whip exceeded his colleagues by 67% compared with Senators ; Theodore Orji (10 Bills) and Enyinnaya Abaribe (2 Bills) who have spent 8 and 12 years respectively at the Red Chambers.
Asides discharging his constitutional elected responsibility with his bill driving streak the 62-year-old lawmaker representing Abia-North has also bagged prestigious awards from notable organisations in recognition of his infrastructural and empowerment drive for his constituents which has been described as superlative coming from a first time Senator.
Amongst the former Governors , A total of 16 were elected to the 9th Assembly as Senators in 2019, constituting 17.44% of the total number of lawmakers in the chamber.
Seven were governors elected as Senators for the first time, while ten had previously been in the Red Chamber.Governors elected to the Senate (Pre-2019).
They are ; Theodore Orji (Abia Central) PDP;Orji Uzor Kalu (Abia North) APC;Chimaroke Nnamani (Enugu East) PDP;Danjuma Goje (Gombe Central) APC;Sam Egwu (Ebonyi North) PDP ;Kabiru Gaya (Kano South) APC;Adamu Aliero (Kebbi Central) PDP ;Abdullahi Adamu (Nasarawa West) APC; Aliyu Wamakko (Sokoto North) APC; Gabriel Suswam (Benue North East) PDP; Kashim Shettima (Borno Central) PDP;Ibrahim Geidam (Yobe South) APC; Rochas Okorocha (Imo West) APC; Ibrahim Shekarau (Kano Central) APC; Tanko Al-Makura (Nasarawa North) APC and Ibikunle Amosun (Ogun Central) APC.
According to a review of performance in the Third Year( 2019-2022) ; Orji Kalu sponsored the highest number of bills with 25 to his credit, closely followed by Ogun Senator Ibikunle Amosun who fronted 24 Bills.
Others in the row are Senators; Rochas, T.A. Orji, Kashim Shettima, Sam Egwu, Gabriel Suswam, Aliyu, Umaru Tanko, Danjuma Goje, Kabiru , Adamu Aliero, Gaidam Ibrahim, Chimaroke, Henry Dickson, Ibrahim Shekarau who sponsored 15, 10, 10, 7, 7, 6 , 6, 4, 3, 3, 2, 1, 1 and 0 bills respectively.
As published by OrderPaper some of Kalu’s notable Bills among the twenty-five include; A Bill For An Act To Amend The Administration Of Criminal Justice Act 2015 And Other Related Matters Bill 2020; A Bill For An Act To Establish The National Food Bank And To Provide For Matters Connected With Or Incidental To The Foregoing, Bill 2021; A Bill For An Act To Alter The Constitution Of The Federal Republic Of Nigeria 1999 (As Amended) To Provide That The Federal Government And The State Governments Shall Have Concurrent Legislative Powers On Railway, And To Provide For Matters Related Thereto 2021;
Orji kalu a Chieftain of the ruling All Progressive’s Congress (APC) was elected to the Senate in 2019 in the National Assembly.
In the report the media organisation x-rayed the legislative performance of the twelve Abia lawmakers in the National Assembly. Order Paper Nigeria highlighted the scorecard of Senators and members of the House of Representatives from the state. The piece was focused on their performance in the area of Bill Sponsorship over the last three years (2019 -2022).
It is however important to note that Senator Abdullahi Adamu, officially resigned from the Senate in April 2022 following his election as the new national chairman of Nigeria’s ruling party, APC.