{"id":236304,"date":"2025-10-05T22:44:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-05T22:44:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.name.ng\/news\/go-back-to-financial-mathematics-class-chinedumije-ibezim-blasts-benjamin-kalu-over-ignorant-comment-on-abias-finances\/"},"modified":"2025-10-05T22:44:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-05T22:44:20","slug":"go-back-to-financial-mathematics-class-chinedumije-ibezim-blasts-benjamin-kalu-over-ignorant-comment-on-abias-finances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/go-back-to-financial-mathematics-class-chinedumije-ibezim-blasts-benjamin-kalu-over-ignorant-comment-on-abias-finances\/","title":{"rendered":"\u201cGo Back To Financial Mathematics Class!\u201d \u2014 Chinedumije Ibezim Blasts Benjamin Kalu Over \u2018Ignorant\u2019 Comment On Abia\u2019s Finances"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><\/p>\n<div>\n<h4 data-start=\"5780\" data-end=\"6088\"><em>Chinedumije Ibezim has fired back at Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, accusing him of financial ignorance and political bias. He schooled Kalu on inflation, fiscal economics, and why comparing old allocations with current ones is \u201cmathematically foolish.\u201d Read the full details of Ibezim\u2019s explosive response.<\/em><\/h4>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"The Truth About Sex Toys Nobody Talks About | Ifenkili Podcast\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/MJkJph-Q-Tw?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<div class=\"kvezio kvezio-clearfix kvezio-post-inline kvezio-float-center kvezio-align-center kvezio-column-1\">\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"Who Cheats More: Married Men or Women? | IFENKILI (PREMIUM IGBO CONTENT)\" width=\"740\" height=\"416\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/_kcF0IcrtLU?feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share\" referrerpolicy=\"strict-origin-when-cross-origin\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p data-start=\"181\" data-end=\"384\"><em><strong>\u2026.Economic commentator Chinedumije Ibezim schools the Deputy Speaker on inflation, cost escalation, and the true meaning of public finance management, accusing him of political blindness.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The economic debate in <a href=\"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/abia\">Abia <\/a>State took a dramatic turn this week after Chinedumije Ibezim, a public affairs analyst, economic commentator, industrialist and Labour Party stalwart in Isuikwuato LGA , publicly reprimanded the Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Rt. Hon. Benjamin Kalu, for what he described as a \u201cshallow understanding\u201d of fiscal economics and inflationary realities.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Ibezim was reacting to Kalu\u2019s recent statement alleging that Governor <a href=\"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/Alex\">Alex <\/a>Otti is receiving higher monthly allocations than previous administrations, yet with \u201clittle to show for it.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-2\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<p><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>In a strongly worded response, Ibezim accused the Deputy Speaker of \u201ctalking without economic context,\u201d advising him to \u201creturn to financial mathematics classes\u201d to refresh his understanding of how inflation and cost-push dynamics affect public expenditure.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI am surprised at the ignorance of the Deputy Speaker considering his privileged position. He should know better. Even the common man on the street knows how inflation has distorted value and purchasing power,\u201d Ibezim said.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He explained that comparing the value of \u20a63\u20134 billion received as allocation in 2021 or 2022 to \u20a630 billion in 2025 is economically meaningless without factoring in inflation rate, exchange rate depreciation, and project cost escalation index.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>According to him, \u201cThe cost of a kilometre of road two years ago has tripled due to inflation and devaluation. A project that cost \u20a61 billion in 2022 could now gulp \u20a63 billion or more today. The same applies to materials, labour, and logistics \u2014 all tied to the weakening Naira and inflation that has surpassed 30%.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<div class=\"kvezio kvezio-clearfix kvezio-post-middle kvezio-float-center kvezio-align-center kvezio-column-1\">\n<div id=\"kvezio-178990-1713747795\" class=\"kvezio-container kvezio-type-image \" itemscope=\"\" itemtype=\"https:\/\/schema.org\/WPAdBlock\" data-adid=\"178990\" data-type=\"image\"><img decoding=\"async\" data-recalc-dims=\"1\" class=\"kvezio-image\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/afnews.sumofunnel.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/cover-1-scaled.jpg?w=1170&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"news paper\"\/><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Ibezim further noted that the average cost of living has skyrocketed across Nigeria since the removal of fuel subsidy and the floatation of the Naira by the current administration, both of which have pushed up prices of goods and services beyond affordability.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cA car that sold for \u20a63 million in 2022 is now \u20a67\u20138 million. House rents have increased by over 200%. Even food and construction materials have tripled in price. So, who is truly richer \u2014 the man who received \u20a64 billion three years ago or the one getting \u20a630 billion now but can\u2019t even meet the same standard of delivery?\u201d he queried.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>Chinedumije Ibezim described Kalu\u2019s statement as \u201cpolitical noise without economic reasoning,\u201d adding that such remarks expose the Deputy Speaker\u2019s \u201cdisconnection from the financial realities Nigerians face daily.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI thought the Deputy Speaker was an intelligent man,\u201d Ibezim continued, \u201cbut his utterance shows otherwise. Every serious economist knows that in times of inflation, nominal values mean nothing; what matters is real value \u2014 what the money can actually buy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>The analyst also rebuked Kalu for insinuating that state allocations were a form of presidential benevolence, stressing that allocations are constitutionally mandated disbursements from the Federation Account.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI\u2019m shocked that a legislator of his standing would think federal allocation is a gift from the President. That\u2019s a very embarrassing misconception. These are statutory disbursements, not presidential favours,\u201d Ibezim stated.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>He concluded by advising Benjamin Kalu to \u201cdrop politics and face reality,\u201d emphasizing that Governor <a href=\"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/Alex\">Alex <\/a>Otti has demonstrated prudence, transparency, and strategic focus in managing Abia\u2019s limited resources amid harsh economic conditions.<\/p>\n<p>\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBen should focus on the greatness of <a href=\"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/abia\">Abia <\/a>State and not allow political manipulation to push him out of favour with Ndi Abia,\u201d Chinedumije Ibezim warned.<\/p>\n<p><h3 class=\"jp-relatedposts-headline\"><em>Related<\/em><\/h3>\n<\/p>\n<div class=\"code-block code-block-1\" style=\"margin: 8px 0; clear: both;\">\n<h3><strong>Listen to top Radio Stations in <a href=\"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/abia\">Abia <\/a>State CLICK HERE<\/strong><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<p><!-- CONTENT END 1 -->\n<\/div>\n<p>https:\/\/afnews.ng\/go-back-to-financial-mathematics-class-chinedumije\/<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Chinedumije Ibezim has fired back at Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, accusing him of financial ignorance and political bias. He schooled Kalu on inflation, fiscal economics, and why comparing old allocations with current ones is \u201cmathematically foolish.\u201d Read the full details of Ibezim\u2019s explosive response. \u2026.Economic commentator Chinedumije Ibezim schools the Deputy Speaker on inflation, cost [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":236305,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[176],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-236304","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-abia"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/Screenshot-2025-10-05-153245.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236304","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=236304"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/236304\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/236305"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=236304"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=236304"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/abiaradiostations.com.ng\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=236304"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}