Former Governor Orji Uzor Kalu of Abia State, Senator, representing Abia North in the National Assembly, has attributed Nigeria’s current economic challenges to insecurity and acts of sabotage, despite progress in ongoing economic reforms.

Kalu, in a media interaction at the National Assembly lobby, on Tuesday during activities marking his 66th birthday, said while reforms were yielding positive results at the macro level, their impact had yet to fully reach ordinary Nigerians due to persistent security concerns.

He, however, noted that the lower end of the reform spectrum continued to face difficulties. According to him, insecurity and deliberate acts of sabotage by some political actors were undermining the gains of government policies.

On the political front, Kalu dismissed allegations that the ruling All Progressives Congress APC, wis working with the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to weaken opposition parties through the electoral process.

He insisted that INEC, under its chairman, Prof Josh Amupitan, operates independently and should be respected as an autonomous institution.