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Deputy Speaker, House of Representatives Hon. Benjamin Kalu
The Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Benjamin Kalu, was on Tuesday elected Chairman of the Monetary and Financial Affairs Committee of the Pan-African Parliament.
Democratic Republic of Congo lawmaker Christine Katempa was named Deputy Chairman.
The PAP is the legislative arm of the African Union, comprising 55 member states representing all countries on the African continent.
The chairmanship of the Monetary and Financial Affairs Committee, one of the highest positions zoned to the West African caucus of the parliament, was recently vacated by Muntaka Mohammed Mubarak (Ghana) following his nomination as a minister.
PAP President Fortune Charumbira announced the appointment during a session of the Pan-African Parliament on Tuesday in Midrand, South Africa.
Kalu’s emergence followed his nomination by the West African Caucus, which was then approved by the plenary of the parliament before the announcement by the President.
A statement issued on Tuesday by the Chief Press Secretary to the Deputy Speaker, Levinus Nwabughiogu, noted that the nomination was conveyed in a letter by the West African Caucus Chairman, Alhagie Mbow (The Gambia), which recognised Kalu’s work at the Nigerian Parliament, the Economic Community of West African States Parliament, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, where he also leads a steering committee.
The Chairman of the West African Caucus, in the nomination letter read on the floor of the parliament by PAP President Charumbira, stated that Kalu “is the most qualified person for the job and has been unanimously endorsed by the regional caucus to replicate his good works at ECOWAS in PAP.”
“The impact of Kalu’s parliamentary work has been similarly recognised internationally by supranational bodies like the Inter-Parliamentary Union and the ECOWAS Parliament,” the statement added.
The PAP is composed of up to 275 members representing the 55 AU member states. Each member state can send up to five representatives, including at least one woman, who are selected by their national legislatures. The parliament exercises oversight, advisory, and consultative powers, with the long-term aim of evolving into an institution with full legislative authority, elected through universal suffrage.
