2015: Group Urges Orji Uzor Kalu to Rescind Decision Not to Contest

A group of Abia youths surprisingly on Monday stormed Abuja residence of former governor of Abia State Dr. Orji Kalu urging him to reconsider his decision to withdraw from the Abia North senatorial race.

The youths, under the auspices of Abia Mass Movement for Positive Change (Youth Wing), insisted that the former governor’s decision to withdraw from the race under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) banner was understandable, but his decision not to run at all was not acceptable to them as the entire Abia citizens are presently clamouring for positive change.

“Your Excellency, we are here today not for ourselves but as representatives of Abia youths. The older citizens who are alive today appreciate your philanthropic gestures especially the free medical scheme of Orji Kalu Foundation”, the spokesman of the group Martin Nnaukwu Ndukwe remarked.

“Our elders have sent us here today to deliver this noble message. They have sent us to plead with you to change your mind. We are pleading with you not to withdraw from the race, which is achievable on another platform other than the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). We are indeed sorry for not informing your of our visit as the exigency did not afford us the opportunity, more so it’s also strategic that we did not let you know in advance our intention of coming to avoid rejection on your part and we believe you will understand.We have been mandated to come and convince you that the entire Abians want you back in the race. They want you to please rescind your decision. We know the PDP has not treated you fairly but please do not throw away the baby and the bath water. The project is still realisable given your acceptability and popularity among our people”, the group stated in their address.

The group added that none of the elders in the PDP is talking even though they have realised that they have all been hoodwinked by the “Chameleonic” sitting governor.“They are dumbfounded that they have been fooled individually and collectively by their master. They are full of shame and do not even know how to approach you. They were all the while made to believe that Orji Kalu was their main enemy, but today they have seen the light and know the truth and the truth has set us all free from the bondage of lies and deception. This is why we have come to urge you to reconsider your stance and give succour to the good people of Abia”.

The group also used the opportunity to call on Dr. Uche Ogah who was rigged out of the PDP governorship primaries in Abia to join forces with Orji Kalu in his efforts to bring about the real change in Abia.“Now that Uche Ogah has been rigged out by the PDP mercenary in Abia as they did other aspirants, we pray he joins forces with Kalu to make life more meaningful for the people. We urge the duo of Orji Kalu and Uche Ogah to reach out to other aggrieved aspirants with a view to building a formidable team that can fight the evil going on in our state”, the group further said.

The group concluded by describing the former governor as a bridge builder whom they believe can bring all positive forces in Abia together to bring the change that is highly needed.

In his response to the clarion call, Kalu thanked the group for their undying love and support not just for him but also for the entire Abians and Abia State.

In response, Dr. Kalu said, “I really appreciate your efforts for coming this far all the way from Abia to register your love and support for me and the belief you have just demonstrated that Abia must be great again is a source of joy and motivation. The beauty of leadership is that a leader does not force or impose himself on the people and most importantly, for the sake of peace and posterity, I had to take a decision that would preserve my reputation and image.

OUK as you all know is synonymous with honesty, integrity and accountability. The elections are still some months away. A whole lot of developments will definitely take place that will shape the future of Abia and in fact Nigeria as a whole. I will only implore you to maintain peace and order as I will communicate my position to you on 2015 elections as soon as any decision is taken”.

The group’s leader praised Kalu for the warm welcome and acceptance but still reiterated the group’s stand that the former governor should have a rethink to contest for the Abia North senatorial seat in the forthcoming elections.

In a similar development, the news about the former Chief of Staff to Governor T.A Orji, Mr. Mascot Uzor Kalu (MUK), running for a seat in the federal House to represent the Aba Federal Constituency has given the people hope that positive change is coming soon.

Orji Uzor Kalu’ll run for Senate, say PDP chiefs

Two chieftains of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Chukwuma Dinne and Stan­ley Okoro have reaffirmed that former Abia State gover­nor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu will run for the Senate in the forth­coming general elections, in February next year. They said Kalu’s earlier withdrawal from the race was just to give peace a chance in Abia PDP.

Said Dinne, “He didn’t want to be an issue which will lead to election losses for President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan and other PDP candidates in 2015.”

The two PDP chieftains ex­pressed unhappiness over the situation in their party and the fact that Kalu had to withdraw in an election he had the best chance of winning. As a re­sult, the two said that a solid platform is being built to en­able the former governor run in 2015.

It is not clear yet which plat­form the business mogul will utilise to actualise his ambition, but Chief Dinne disclosed to Sunday Sun yesterday that they would want the gubernatorial primaries to be concluded first before a final decision is taken on the platform, adding that this would happen on or before Wednesday this week.

“Though we are PDP mem­bers, we will build a solid plat­form on which Kalu will run for Abia North Senatorial seat. Running is a task that must be done. He is perhaps the most qualified in that senatorial dis­trict and his being a senator will make a difference in the lives of the people. We are aware that some people have asked Kalu to run for President, but he will not, as he was among the team of South easterners that made a promise to support Jonathan for a second term in office,” Chief Dinne affirmed.

Mr Stanley Okoro won­dered what was happening in the PDP now. He said: “We re­ally wonder what is happening in our party. Chief Barnabas Gemade has been forced to withdraw and may be heading for the APC. Governor Em­manuel Uduaghan of Delta State was forced to withdraw, and Kalu was also forced to withdraw. Elections are not won in that way. To win elec­tions, you must put your best men forward.”

Chief Emeka Nkemdirim, a stakeholder from Eluama in Isiukwuato in Abia State said that the people of the state want three people next year. “We want Uche Ogah as our next governor, Orji Kalu as our Senator for Abia North, and Goodluck Jonathan as our president. We are going to work for these three people,” he told Sunday Sun.

“In 2011, in the first Nation­al Assembly elections, before the elections were suspended, Kalu was already winning with 72 per cent of the votes and in the rescheduled election,he won with 63 per cent but a former Chief of Army Staff from my local government area manipulated the results using soldiers. We will not al­low it to happen this time. We will resist it with the last drop of our blood.

“Governor T.A Orji has been throwing the name of the First Lady, Dame Patience Jonathan, around. He claims that even if he brings a goat, the First Lady will bless it, and the goat will be elected. This time around, it will not hap­pen,” Nkemdirim said.

He warned INEC and any­body that may be disposed to manipulating the system not to play any tricks , insisting that the people are not in the mood for any tricks.

“It will not be like 2011 when T.A. Orji used the Chief of Army Staff to manipulate the elections with all the prom­ises made to the Army chief not kept. People will not be fooled this time,” he said.

Meanwhile, former Chief of Staff to Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, Chief Mascot Kalu has pur­chased form to run for a House of Representatives seat on the platform of Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA). This is against the rumour being ped­dled principally by Governor T.A. Orji that the Igbere born politician wants to run for gov­ernorship in Abia State.

Sunday Sun learnt that as soon as the news filtered that Mascot was running, there was wild jubilation in the state, especially in the commercial city of Aba because they be­lieve that he will attract federal presence to Abia State. This is even as the people are lament­ing that the roads which were originally built by Orji Kalu, Mascot’s elder brother, when he was governor of Abia State between 1999 and 2007 have collapsed completely under T.A Orji’s watch. Mascot has, however, vowed to work for President Jonathan’s re-elec­tion since his party, PPA has adopted him as its candidate.

Sunday Sun was also in­formed yesterday that Chief Chikwe Udensi who recently decamped from the All Pro­gressives Grand Alliance (APGA) to PPA is to buy a form tomorrow to run for Abia governorship. Chief Udensi said he left APGA for PPA be­cause he believes that PPA is more of a grassroots party than the others.

Orji Kalu withdraws from Abia Senatorial race

Former Governor of Abia State Dr Orji Uzor Kalu has withdrawn from the race for Abia North Senatorial district schedule for next year.

Dr Kalu it was learnt has written to the leadership of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) withdrawing from the race. He said his decision is personal sacrifice to save the Abia PDP from crisis

Kalu was seeking the ticket for the Abia North senatorial district on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

In a letter dated November 24, 2014 and addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Muazu, the former governor said he was withdrawing from the race because the Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, was bent on imposing his handpicked aspirants on the party in the state.

He lamented that the governor deceived some high profile members of the party into resigning their plum positions to contest elections, only for him to ditch them for his handpicked candidates.

Kalu said: “Along the line, however, it became apparent that the Abia State Governor, Chief T.A Orji wants to handpick all candidates, both into executive and legislative positions. He wants to choose his own successor, fill the 24 House of Assembly seats, the eight federal constituencies and the three senatorial seats.

“Governor Orji knew ahead of time that he had a candidate in mind but deliberately allowed eminent Abia citizens like Dr. Alex Otti, GMD of Diamond Bank to resign from his lofty position when he should have advised him to remain there.

“He also allowed the Minister of Labour, Chief Emeka Wogu to resign and lose the Abia slot in the Federal Executive Council and other ministerial committees, he equally allowed two ranking members of the Senate, Senators Nkechi Nwogu and Enyinnaya Abaribe to pick gubernatorial forms when he should have advised them to go for re-election into the Senate.

“I find all these very disturbing. When Governor Orji was to be elected the first time in 2007, everyone knew where I stood three years before then that he was my anointed candidate. There was absolutely no ambiguity unlike now that he has allowed these people to lose their positions and resources chasing shadows. It is quite obvious that Governor Orji’s plan is to bring everybody down.”

While maintaining that there was no ward congress in Abia state, Kalu said the governor and his “collaborators” just compiled the list of delegates and this has forced some members of the PDP to defect to other parties.

He warned that it is dangerous for PDP to hang all its hope on one man, as elections are won by collective efforts and not as a solo run.

KALU GREETS ATIKU AT 68

Eminent businessman and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu,  has congratulated former Vice President of Nigeria, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as he clocks 68 on Tuesday, November, 25.

Kalu described Alhaji Atiku  as a consummate politician and philanthropist.

In a birthday message signed by his Special Adviser, Oyekunle Oyewumi, he said: "I join millions of your well wishers and family in celebrating your 68 birthday.  As you add another year, it is my prayer that God Almighty will continue to give you excellent health while granting your heart's desires'. Once again, many happy returns."

" Alhaji Atiku has contributed immensely to the social, economic and political well being of Nigeria, having served in different capacities in the public and private spheres of life".

He wished the celebrant a fulfilling birthday celebration.

Kalu’s timely PDP special waiver

I think things that are done properly should at any time be commended. And one of such commendable things now is the waiver the PDP national

leadership announced in favour of former Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu. First, while Kalu is quite deserving of the waiver, it is also a positive move by the party when

the elections are coming closer and at a time the opposition is doing all it can to snatch any state or constituency it can from the ruling party. I must remind every member of the party in Abia that anyone that loves the party should be part of the duty to work for its progress to retain its leadership in the state.

No gainsaying the fact that the reason the fortune of the party is in serious decline in the state is because the bullies that have seized power like a personal franchise in the state felt threatened by

the presence of those that would correct them, even as they don’t feel a pinch of their conscience to chop off the hands that fed them. Because of personal political gains and the penchant for

stomach-infrastructure politics in Abia, some elders who ordinarily were revered until their shameful outing, ganged up and stormed Abuja to ask the leadership of our party not to re-admit Dr. Kalu. I have never witnessed a worse political drama and ill adventure. But Abia, through the machination of Chief Theodore Orji, the state governor, went that low and banal.

The opposition is coming harder everyday, and whoever has an ear should hear that clearly. The opposition is out to grab states where the ruling party has not

justified the mandate it has. Who doesn’t know that Abia has the worst record in governance? And who doesn’t know that with the unpopularity of the man in power in Abia today, doomed is a candidate he endorses for succession? Governor Orji is an unpopular public office holder and if anyone is in doubt, let him or her go to Aba and see for himself or herself. Like a certain politician

once said, Abia and Aba really stink and the stench reaches the heavens. With such ignominy, the balm that would paper over the mess in the state and the fate of our party is the entry into the centre stage of people of credible standing and popularity. Dr. Kalu, close to eight years after leaving office, fits into that mould. His popularity has not waned,

his following and endearment to the masses still remain. And whoever is in doubt of this should visit his home in his town or in Abuja, Lagos or anywhere he is found. The crowd he still commands around him still outweighs that of the serving governor. That is the test of what the future holds for the party with Kalu back. Moreover, apart from Kalu’s clout the minnows are uncomfortable about, every party lobbies for members to join. So, in an era when parties throw their hands open to welcome even members joining for the first time, at a time

they canvass for followership, who is the person that wishes PDP well that would rather prefer that members are chased away? And in Kalu, it is not just membership, but quality one.

It might not make much sense to be antagonistic to Kalu or feel threatened about his presence

because his large image did not come from nothing. It is a product of his records in and out of office. If Kalu by dint of dedicated leadership and the ability to create relationships built himself into a high tower and worthy example, what anyone that doesn’t want him should do is simple – lead like Kalu led; aggregate and groom people like he does; open channels

of growth and development for the lower class like he did and still does. That is what endears him constantly to the people and that is why his following remains intact as if he were in power. Of course, Kalu remains in the saddle of the power of goodwill and the empire of humanity he built over the years which those that refuse to benefit the masses are sorely afraid of. Therefore, his return to the party, and the lofty decision of the party leadership to grant him waiver to return to the party and contest an elective position is a good step in the right direction.

It is a sign that the party knows how to turn the fortunes of the party around in the state instead of keeping quiet to lose it to the opposition.All real party members from the state also welcome and accept the decision to allow him to be screened in Abuja, consistent with party legal provisions.

And, that position is a clear indictment of the leadership of the party in Abia as a body that has killed openness.

We ask Dr. Kalu to ride on with the decision, justify it by re-inventing the lost virtues of the party that poor leadership has robbed it of in the past years. We look forward to a return of this great party member and leader of the masses to ensure that PDP doesn’t lose Abia. It is, indeed, a smart and timely move.

If a state likely Abia with the capacity for greatness and adequate development is not to remain crawling and tottering in decay, then something radical needs to be done, as long as it is legal, to put the state on its feet.

Abia has seen, tasted and acclimatized in misrule that makes me continually wonder if there would be liberation. Yes, there would be, but not by the same crop of traditional ‘misrulers’ that caused the crises. There is every need for fresh blood in the system because the same people that created the rot can never cleanse it because they lack the capacity.

By Kalu’s return, people of like mind would be attracted back. His return would mean the revival of the fortunes of the party in Abia, and probably that would trigger off an action that would cause many others that are disenchanted with the party’s fate in the state to also return. It is the most assured way to save Abia from bad leadership.

Whatever can be done must be done to save the party from any development that would lead to Theodore Orji handpicking successors because that would make the party losing Abia or entrench

further evil leadership in the state. Beyond party affiliation, the basic is that Abia should be ruled better, and the present crop of people dominating the party in Abia is far from having the capacity to do that.There should be an internal mechanism of change activated in Abia PDP. Kalu coming back will assure the people of that because the turf will now be open for a true democratic contest. So, let’s celebrate this wise move by the PDP national leadership and wish it blossoms and pays the state the right dividends.

.Igbokwe writes from Abuja

Enyimba will equal Rangers’ record, Kalu predicts

IT was yet another round of celebrations for former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, as Enyimba lifted their fourth Federation’s Cup Sunday in Lagos.

  “You can always bank on Enyimba,” Kalu said excitedly, adding, “with this successful Cup defence, I see them equaling Enugu Rangers’ 38-year-old record next year.”

  Rangers remain the only side to have won the trophy thrice consecutively. It began in 1974 when the Coal City Boys defeated Ismaila Mabo’s Mighty Jets of Jos 2-0 at the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos. They retained the cup in 1975 with a lone goal victory over Sam Ojebode’s Shooting Stars of Ibadan.

  In 1976, the Flying Antelopes stopped Owura Agyei and the Alyufsalam Rocks of Ilorin 2-0. It was a thing of pride as the Ilorin side paraded about 10 Ghanaians, including James Quino and Ahmed Nalando. Rangers at the end of the encounter poached the lone Nigerian, Humphrey Okechukwu.

  Kalu joked Sunday that he could put his cash on the Aba Elephants.

 “Enyimba are not like our Super Eagles. You can bank on the Elephants. At least, they can fight hard as defending champions. They won the CAF Champions League in 2003 and defended it successfully in 2004. They won the Federations Cup in 2013 and have retained it in 2014. The Eagles have never defended the Nations Cup successfully, check the records,” the ex- governor pointed out.

All The Bloggers In The World Will Not Save T.A. Orji

I have spent the past two and half months detailing my achievements for the eight years I was in the saddle as the Chief Driver of Abia State. I have also used the two and half months to put a lie to the deliberate and malicious distortions of facts spearheaded against me by Governor Theodore Ahamefule Orji.

From the facts and figures unleashed, it is easy to discern that the present administration in Abia State, to the best of my knowledge, is deceitful, inhumane, insensitive and incorrigi­ble.

It is deceitful, because most of its claims in the media about performance are false and presumptuous. There are no hard facts to cor­roborate these claims. Most of the projects it had caused to be published in the media as paid advertisements were projects started and com­pleted by our administration between 1999 and 2007. I enumerated these projects and sup­ported them with copious verifiable facts. Up till date, all the state government and its media agents have succeeded in doing to refute these facts was engage in name-calling, threats and intimidation. Unfortunately, it missed the mark, because I am not the kind of man any person can easily intimidate, especially when I am sure of my facts.

In all my years on Planet Earth, I have never seen a man as deceitful in character and uncouth in language as the incumbent gover­nor of Abia State. He says one thing and does another. This is manifest in the manner he has administered the affairs of the state since he came on board in 2007. You can never take him for his word.

He always says one thing and does another. Take for instance, his assurances to me that he would govern our state with the fear of God and good conscience. What happened in the end? He jumped ship and declared me and anybody related to me as an enemy.

The hallmark of any responsible leader should be the fear of God and respect for hu­man dignity. But here is a man who does not understand the basic elements of human inter­relationship and its accompaniments – hon­esty, truth, transparency, candour, integrity and pragmatism.

It is no longer a hidden fact that the govern­ment of Governor Orji is predicated on self-aggrandizement, greed and avarice, with little or no consideration for the majority of our suf­fering people. There is no single project done or ongoing by the present administration that has had any direct impact on the lives of the people. Almost all the projects the administra­tion has embarked upon under the Legacy Pro­jects are white elephants. And sadly, too, none of them has been satisfactorily completed and put to use nearly eight years into its tenure.

As I write, millions of Abians have no port­able water, no roads, no functional health cen­tres, and no food. The available roads, which we built between 1999 and 2007, have not been maintained ever since. The rural health scheme we set up to take care of our rural dwellers was stopped by the government of Governor Theodore Orji and replaced with a diagnostic centre in Umuahia established to serve the interest of his family and the High and Mighty.

To further show how greedy and uncaring the administration of Governor Orji is, it will be fine to look at how much it has received and how much it has expended on the welfare of the people. According to available statistics, the government of Abia State has received approximately N1 trillion in revenue (from the Federation Account and sundry sources, including internally generated revenue and special grants) between 2007 and date. What has he done with the money since there are no amenities on ground to justify the huge re­ceipts? What reason would the governor give for not paying workers for the past six months, for dry taps in all of Abia State, for the poor conditions of roads in the entire state, particu­larly Aba, for the mountains of refuse that lit­ter every nook and cranny of the state, for the increasing state of insecurity, and for the huge debts now owed by the state when we left a clean slate on May 29, 2007?

What the governor showcases as achieve­ments for the close to eight years he has been governor are hundreds of thousands of posters announcing his interest to vie for Senate, when in truth his tenure has been an unmitigated dis­aster. Go to the local government councils in the state and you weep for Abia State. The lo­cal government councils have been mortgaged through huge debts. There is no local govern­ment council in the state that owes the banks less than N500 million in loans and overdrafts. How can they repay the money when the state government stifles them of their statutory al­locations? This is one of the reasons the gov­ernment has shied away from conducting elec­tions into the councils and, instead, preferred to use caretaker committees.

That is not all: Governor Orji and his fami­ly have been on buying spree with major prop­erties in Umuahia in their acquisition. What do they need all the properties for when an aver­age Abian cannot afford a decent accommoda­tion or meal? What would have happened if our administration had not built some housing estates in Aba and Umuahia, especially the 1000-unit Ehimiri Housing Estate, Umuahia, for civil servants on owner-occupier basis? The incumbent governor is a beneficiary with two blocks, contrary to the state government’s directive then that each person was entitled to just a block.

Under the watch of Governor Orji, Abia State has been an object of ridicule in the com­ity of states in Nigeria. The situation is made worse when it is considered that Abia State is one of the Niger Delta states and, therefore, should signpost positive infrastructural de­velopment. Surrounding states to Abia State are doing very well in every stratum of socio-economic life. What then is wrong with God’s Own State?

Critics can easily advance the argument that Akwa Ibom State earns bigger allocations than Abia State. Agreed! But evidence has shown that it is not how much one receives that counts. What counts is how the money has been utilized. A reckless spender can squander N1 billion naira in less than 24 hours, while a judicious and prudent manager can use the same amount to produce eye-popping accom­plishments. While the Federal Government is hyping its transformation agenda, the Abia State Government is flaunting its tantaliz­ing agenda. The so-called legacy projects are tantalizing projects, not life-transforming pro­jects, which are what the people really need.

I do not subscribe to the school of thought which says leaders are born, not made. To me leaders are made by the circumstances that shape their development into adulthood. Pow­er is the central element that shapes the lives of leaders. You can only know the real worth of a leader when you entrust him with power. Before he became governor, Chief Orji was deemed to be a humble, coolheaded and resourceful person. At least that was what we were able to glean from his outward appearance.

As soon as he grabbed power, his real self was exposed. Beneath the veil was a cast of multifarious characters camouflaged by mer­etricious and superfluous mien, giving him away as a righteous, puritanical personality. He now wears a new garb of ‘Ezeonyeagwalam’ (the incorrigible ruler). This is why I agree to­tally with Shakespeare that there is no act to find the mind’s construction on the face.

If the governor were not a deceitful person why did he promise Abia people prosperity and instead gave them unlimited suffering and chastisement? The pain the people go through every day to eke out a living cannot be prop­erly captured in print. It is better seen. The economy of the state has collapsed irretriev­ably. How can the economy grow when the commonwealth of the state is concentrated on the hands of Governor Orji and members of his family and political associates?

There was no way Abians would have thrown their weight behind him if the governor had shown the flimsiest sign of incompetence and arrogance of power. He lacks the courage to own up to his inefficiency. Instead of own­ing up to his sins he works in vain to heap the blame on me. The only sin I committed was to convince Abians to vote for him. He should bear the brunt of his actions and inactions.

Now that the period of giving stewardship is fast approaching he should ready himself with facts and figures, because the people will ask him questions about how he managed their affairs in the past eight years.

He has continued to distort facts and bend the truth about true happenings in our dear state, often concealing the truth from the pub­lic. But for how long is he going to do that be­fore the cookies crumble? Day and night he is busy looking for where and how to destroy my reputation. Sadly for him, the more he tries the more difficult it is for him to make the people hate me. He has claimed all the projects we did as his and went a step further to document them as having been completed by his admin­istration.

Who in this world does not know that Gov­ernor Orji has never embarked on a single project worth N2 billion, in spite of the mega allocations he receives from Abuja monthly? All the so-called projects he has embarked upon do not have direct bearing on the lives of the people, and none of them is worth up to N2 billion.

As I stated earlier in this piece they are white elephants meant to bamboozle the peo­ple and create the impression he is working. If he is an honest leader let him publish all the projects his administration has started and completed, stating how much each of them cost, the names of the companies that han­dled them, where they are located, and other such facts that will erase any doubt. Sincerely speaking, Abia State is in a mess. Forget all the media hype and invectives the man spews on me on a daily basis, our state needs redemp­tion.

The only project worth more than N2 bil­lion is his personal house in Umuahia – stand­ing towering in the heart of the city centre, blocking 5 public streets. The location of the huge house is simply a menace.

It demonstrates in very clear terms the man’s irrationality and insensitivity to the plight of the people he superintends over. Show me anywhere in this wide world where a leader could be as reckless and inconsider­ate as to flaunt his ill-acquired wealth before his impoverished and hunger-stricken people. This is the show of shame that is governance in God’s Own State.

The irony of it all is that even the most unenlightened Abian knows how much the man was worth before he became my Chief of Staff. Nobody expects his new status as governor not to rub off on his mien and his place of abode. It is natural. But it is offensive to delib­erately refuse to work for your people even in the midst of plenty. What justification does he have not to work for Abia State? All he does is regular visits to Abuja to gossip and curry favour. Unfortunately, the topic of discussion has always been Orji Kalu.

For the eight years I served as governor I was passionate about the welfare and sensibility of the people. We never took any decision that did not factor in the feeling of the masses. That was why in spite of the meager resources available to us we were able to affect the lives of the people. The achievements we recorded between 1999 and 2007 are what stand as a sign of the presence of government in Abia State in the past 15 years. Yet the governor has never for one single day commended our ad­ministration for the giant strides we made in the development of the state. All he has done is to buy space in newspapers and magazines, and use the state’s media and hirelings, to in­sult me and members of my family.

A busy governor will have little or no time for inanities. But this governor has time to gossip for hours. This is why Abia has suffered from stunted growth since he assumed the leadership of the state. What is left of his ten­ure is just six months. In six months a serious-minded governor could still do something to affect the lives of the people positively. Nev­ertheless, this may not be the case with Abia State as the governor is busy junketing all over the place, seeking how to doctor the results of PDP congresses that never held in Abia State. Why is he afraid of genuine primaries? The answer is simple: he has nothing to offer. Let me ask again: are there two ways to transpar­ent and credible primaries?

It is painful that some people somewhere are goading the governor in his misadministration of Abia State. Those who ought to speak out have failed over the years to do so. Such people should know that they will partake in whatever punishment God decides to mete out to him in due time. For their interest, I advise them to hands off and allow the people’s will to prevail.

Perhaps what makes the situation in Abia State look difficult to ameliorate is that Governor Orji is a very obdurate and incorrigible person. You may be taken in by his innocent looks, but beneath it is a defiant and recalci­trant persona. He detests the truth and does not like anybody who tells him the truth. The disa­greement we have had stemmed from his lack of amenability to corrections. He behaves this way, forgetting no man is an island or knows it all. We need one another’s support and cross­pollination of ideas to succeed in whatever we do.

He can hire all the media managers and bloggers in the world, for all I care, to launder his image; this will not save him from God’s anger that is about to come to judgment in Abia State.

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Chief Orji Uzor Kalu was governor of Abia state from 1999 to 2007

Kalu hails Bode George at 70

Eminent businessman and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, has congratulated former National Vice Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, on his 70th birthday celebration Friday, November 21.

Kalu, in a congratulatory message signed by his Special Adviser, Mr. Kunle Oyewumi, said: “I extend my warm greetings to you on the occasion of this milestone in life.  You have continued to build large groups of followers owing to your kind heart and generosity. It is my prayer that God Almighty will grant your heart’s desires in good health. Again, happy birthday!”

The former governor noted that George had contributed to nation building in different capacities.

Kalu wished the celebrant a joyous celebration.

PDP’s waiver to Kalu: A miscellany

IT is unprecedented in the history of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Last week, the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling party granted one of its founding members/foundational financier and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, (and three other stalwarts) especial waivers to return to the party and also contest next year’s Abia North senatorial election on its all-conquering platform in Dr. Kalu’s case.
Before this epochal intervention, a few charlatanistic fellows in the Abia chapter of the party who are merely provincial secretariat operatives had since 2011 when Dr. Kalu re-defected to the party consistently fed the public with tissues of lies on the non-membership of Kalu in the party he co-founded when most of these local champions had not seen the day! The absurdity of it all was that virtually all the persecutors and Kalu-haters were people biting the hand that had fed them in their days of anonymity and political insignificance. Kalu’s beneficence to these ingrates remains a subject for future sociological enquiries.

All manner of combative efforts and vicious ingenuities were thrown up in the inexplicable criminalization of the routine process of entry, exit and return to political associations. Even the country’s Constitution in Sections 36, 37 and 38 recognises the citizens’ inalienable right to associate freely without any manacles by any individual or corporate.
The clownishness of the failed ostracisation of Kalu from the PDP family got to its summit when deviant references were made to his disrespect for the state’s leadership of the party and use of expletives that lacked remorsefulness for an imaginary offence. I doubt if there is any former governor in this country that has received invectives as much as Kalu from poverty-stricken people who are suffering from acute stomach infrastructural deficiency and survive exclusively on government’s regular dole-outs.
Why were the oppositional forces against the return of Kalu frightened? Why are they afraid of him? Is it the man’s supranational political and economic profile that intimidates those vehemently opposed to him? As I had stated sometime ago, Kalu is irrefutably a political asset that is misunderstood and mismanaged by acrimonious people who ideally should be synergizing with him. This misperception of Kalu is the spring of his strained relationship with grassroots party stakeholders, so-called elders and ad hoc ‘Abia Patriots’ (empanelled for the defence of Gov. T. A. Orji’s controversial legacies).
The global excitement and jubilation that greeted Dr. Kalu’s formal return to the party were unparalleled. In all parts of the country, there was this messianic feeling that a man that would redeem and restore the conquistadorial pedigree of the PDP in the South East generally and Abia particularly has finally come back. As to be expected, if anyone had the illusion that those opposed to Dr. Kalu would allow sleeping dogs lie they were mistaken as the dust has been kicked up again for the ultimate fiasco! I just hope that some people would not cut their nose and spite their faces in the unjustifiable witch-hunt of Dr. Kalu.
This political novelty could not have been possible if not for the sagacity of the party’s National Chairman, Alhaji (Dr.) Ahmadu Adamu Mu’azu, CON, Walin Bauchi, whose reformist agenda since taking charge of the PDP Wadata Plaza catalysed the come-back process for Dr. Kalu and three other key members of the party. It would be foolhardy for any party leader to ignore Dr. Kalu’s teeming supporters and followers. He is so popular in the South East particularly in and out of government that with his return the political fortunes of the PDP will experience a revolutionary swell. It is this famousness of Dr. Kalu that is discomfiting the few vanishing critics of his domiciled in Abia. I doff my hat to Alhaji Mu’azu for his forthright intervention in the resolution of this hypocrisy.
Even in the face of provocative asininities, Dr. Kalu remained calm and philosophical in addressing some of the phantom issues raised by those who shiver over his dominance of Abia and South East politics. He never for one day used foul language on the party or its leadership. Apparently, he knew that it was a question of time before the rascals in Abia would be cut to size as has happened. And despite the imbecilities by local war-lords, Dr. Kalu continued to demonstrate his unflinching support for President Goodluck Jonathan’s second-term candidacy so much that he created a massive banner encrypted with the Presidents picture and his in a captivating juxtaposition —long before other aspirants for various offices copied his creativity. On the heels of this was a bizarre effrontery by the Abia PDP wing which thoughtlessly took a full page advertorial in THE NATION ON SUNDAY sometime last month to discredit and disclaim their political godfather! I wonder how they would be feeling now with this unassailable and unimpeachable masterstroke.
The Kalu exclusion brazenness by the Abia PDP impolitic combatants reeks of rascality that can only be associated with blokes on a weird mission of ragamuffin idiocy. And to compound matters, the treacherous and traitorous elements involved in this pugilistic enterprise adopted bohemianism as the instrumentality of war. In the obscene process, they unwittingly exhibited and advertised their crass irresponsibility, amnesia and systemic small-mindedness!
Men that should ordinarily be gentle, taciturn and decorous became wild, intemperately garrulous and incautious themselves and employed a legion of loquacious chaps who embarked on unrestrained media frenzy of deconstructing and demystifying whatever Kalu stands for. Even his aides were not spared as my own abduction case is still fresh to be rehashed here. It was a free for all kamikaze kind of political warfare: everything was thrown in to diminish the Igbere icon and his vociferous followers like this columnist, who doubles as his media advisor among other official and personal professional assignations.
In all the specious allegations against Dr. Kalu, there is no thread of substance. Even the propaganda lacks logic because there is not iota of truth in the falsehood that is usually mass circulated among jaundiced online portals and a few yellowish publications that are inevitably driven by survivalist instincts that endemically envelope them to the point of asphyxiation.
With the intervention of Dr. Mu’azu and the PDP NWC, I take it for granted that all the pre-waiver stupidities have become history and everyone on both sides has learnt their lesson. There are unlikely to be further oppositional brainwaves henceforth. I rest this case on the optimistic and reconciliatory note that the Abia PDP political brigandage that culminated in interminable character assassination of Dr. Kalu has, finally, come to an end. No more diatribes and innuendoes from Umuahia, hopefully, and reciprocally, too, from the Kalu camp!

PDP grants Kalu special waiver

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) National Working Committee (NWC) has finally granted former Abia State governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, special waiver, We can authoritatively reveal.

The former Abia State governor is a senatorial aspirant in Abia State.

Checks by Us revealed that Orji Kalu had applied for waiver since January but he was denied by the state chapter of the party.

A source further revealed that the national leadership of the party also directed that the former governor be screened in Abuja in the ongoing screening of National Assembly aspirants.

The source noted that having applied for a waiver since January, it would have amounted to injustice to deny the former governor a chance because, those who applied after him, had since been granted.

It was gathered that the party’s National Working Committee was worried that the intransigence of Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji and the pliable state chapter of the party could undermine the fortunes of PDP in the forthcoming general elections.

Daily Sun source also justified the privilege given to Orji Kalu to be screened in Abuja.

He said: “The NWC has powers to form a special committee. There is no problem about that.

“Why the idea came up, was to avoid any likely breach of the peace between the supporters of the governor and Dr. Kalu.”

Kalu Has Been Vindicated As Court Stops Abia PDP Primaries

The former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu knew it and kept away from little minds in Abia State that were bent on belittling his ambitions. Mind you, Kalu is a man who sees tommorrow before it comes. Kalu is a great spirit that has always encountered violent opposition from mediocre and little minds in Abia State. Kalu has always rated himself the first version of himself, and he is always the first.

Some sycophants in the government of Governor Theodore Orji were calling for his head when he was telling the world of the rot that has characterised his home state of Abia. When he rejoined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) sometime in 2012 or so, it could be remembered that the Governor of Abia State, led some stakeholders of the party that comprised some senators from the state to the PDP’s national body in Abuja to stop Kalu from rejoining the party.

But like a very popular man that Kalu always is, their move did not hold waters. The likes of Senators Uche Chukwumereji (Abia North), Nkechi Nwaogu (Abia Central), and Enyinnaya Abaribe (Abia South) were very much in support of the governor to ‘deal’ with Kalu. They were not clairvoyance that what turns around, comes around, as today the same governor they were stooges to have set on a mission to pocket the state PDP and they are now crying wolf, because the current power-sharing formula of the Abia State PDP was not going to favour them, therefore they have turned to petition and letter writers in order for higher authorities in the party to look into the problem in the Abia State PDP.

They are now saying that the authorities should see and regard as illegal the committee that was set up by the state Chairman of the party, Senator Emma Nwaka to overseeing how the party’s primaries are conducted in the state. They are just seeing this today, but several times that Kalu was drawing the attention of the world to the plight, many people had thought that he was a troublemaker, which he is not.

The three senators who have not used their constituencies’ funds judiciously since a decade that some of them are in the House, are not ashamed that they are just seeing the chameleon in the governor. They have gone to cry like kids before the National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the party’s National Working Committee to help them; something that Kalu had singlehandedly been fighting and the same senators were among the persons that had been fighting Kalu for always bringing the ills of the governor in the state to the public.

Over allegations that the state chapter of the primaries election committee has compiled a list of names favoured for the forthcoming congresses and primaries for respective elective positions, Senators Uche Chukwumerije, Enyinnaya Abaribe and Nkechi Nwaogu in the petition dated October 28, 2014, and signed by the three lawmakers, challenged that the opus of the party disregarded sections 31 (1), (2, J), (3), 25 (1) of the PDP’s constitution 2012, as amended.

The senators were just waking from sleep, after Governor Orji have used and dumped them. Before it was reported that a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has quashed the committee, Kalu had admonished that nobody should go to that committee for anything, for that would amount to a mere waste of time.

He had hinged his point, saying that Abia people were law abiding, that’s why they were calling on the NWC of the party to look into the illegality that was playing out in Abia State. He drove the nail harder that nobody should arrogate to himself, powers he had not, powers that only belonged to the NWC and it was only that body that would decide who should or should not contest election.

It is a disgrace how some persons can change automatically when some issues do not benefit them like we are seeing in the senators. Kalu would say that where have you seen such committee set up in any of the states of the federation? Why must things be done the wrong way in Abia State? Things will no longer be allowed to go the wrong way in the state.

Kalu had further said that the move by the state PDP had no place in the party’s constitution. In his belief, Kalu had said that the setting up of the committee was a way of telling those who Governor Orji would not want to contest the election, to stay away from the 2015 elections. It was discernible that the Chairman of PDP in the state, Senator Emma Nwaka, had in Umuahia, inaugurated the committee headed by the Deputy Chief of Staff, Government House, Umuahia, Charles Ogbonna, Governor Theodore Orji’s cousin.

With a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja stopping the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, from going ahead with its plan to conduct ward congress election in Abia State on November 1, it has been justified that Kalu was not raising a false alarm that Governor Orji was out for something odious in the Abia PDP. However, we are watching where this would end.

Rubby Obinna writes from Ohaji, Imo State.

2015: Kalu still in Abia North senatorial race in PDP – Campaign director

Contrary to in­sinuations that former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, is not in the race for Abia North Senatorial District seat, his campaign organisation has said there is no truth in this.
South-East Zonal Coordi­nator of the Peoples Demo­cratic Party (PDP), Colonel Akunobi, was quoted on the Broadcasting Corporation of Abia State (BCA) at the weekend, to have said that Kalu had withdrawn from the senatorial election sched­uled for February next year.
Reacting to this, the Di­rector of Orji Uzor Kalu Senatorial Campaign Ogan­isation, Chief Emeka Ohia, stated that the former gov­ernor was not just in the race but is being rooted for by indigenes of the senatorial district.

He stated that Kalu had already obtained nomination form from the PDP and hav­ing filled it, would submit the form on Friday.
“Kalu is very much in the senatorial race. Colonel Aku­nobi is wrong to say that he is not in the race. We have collected the form and will submit it on Friday,” Ohia told Daily Sun.
The campaign director stated that as a member of the PDP, Kalu, who rejoined the party on January 16, 2012, duly obtained the nomina­tion form from the national secretariat, according to the guidelines.
He stated that the former governor would campaign in every nook and cranny of Abia North Senatorial Dis­trict and based on his over­whelming acceptance, he is looking forward to represent­ing the people of the area.
“Yes, Kalu is getting ready for the election. When cam­paign starts, we would visit all areas in Abia North to seek their votes. He did this in 2011 and won 78 per cent of the votes, but the riggers manipulated the results. De­spite that, he refused to go to court. In four years, Abia North has lost its quality rep­resentation. The people in Abia North know that Kalu will be an outstanding sena­tor and therefore, will always vote for him,” Ohia stated.
Kalu contested the Abia North Senatorial seat on the platform of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) in 2011. He had earlier contest­ed for the Presidency in 2007 on the platform of PPA.
The former governor re­joined the PDP in 2012 and has participated in the activi­ties of the party ever since.
A foundation member of the PDP, Kalu left the part in 2007 to found the PPA, when he was deregistered along with others. The PPA won the governorship elections in Abia and Imo states as well as state House of Assembly and House of Representa­tives seats.

2015: Why I want to run for Abia North senatorial seat — Kalu

Former Abia State governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, at the weekend, attributed his interest to run for the Abia North senatorial seat on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to his resolve to serve the people of the state.
He, however, hinged his belief and optimism on God despite the bickerings by some politicians in the state who are against his ambition.
Kalu, who spoke to some journalists at the Lagos Airport on his way to the Middle East, declared that he would continue to pursue the ongoing reconciliation in the ruling PDP despite distractions from the Abia State chapter of the party.
His words: ‘‘Last week, I picked my nomination form at Wadata Plaza. I decided to run for Senate after several calls by the good people of Abia North for better representation. I and Governor T.A Orji are from different senatorial zones and more so, the mandate belongs to the people. No one has monopoly of power to make anyone senator except God and your constituents.
“I believe that the beauty of democracy is fair play and the president has promised a level playing field for all aspirants. Before venturing into politics, I had been empowering my people when I was in public office; so, based on this, I rest assured of victory.”

He, however, commended government for addressing the insecurity affecting the country, while also calling on traditional rulers and leaders of thought to educate their subjects on the negative effects of terrorism.

“Boko haram has been surmounted to a large extent. We must commend the efforts of the federal government and support of foreign countries and international agencies in curbing terrorism.”

On Chibok girls, he accused politicians of over heating the issue saying: “though I feel very pained as a father too. However, we must not forget that the President is trying his best and having sleepless night over the abduction of these girls. We all need to work together without been partisan to collectively salvage the situation.

“The #BringBackOurGirls campaign is commendable as they have created awareness and put government on their toes in finding a lasting solution to the menace. I want to appeal to Emirs and leaders of thought to continue to educate the people on the negative effect of terrorism to the nation as nothing strive in an atmosphere of unrest.

We should keep praying for the country as we approach election year and politicians should embrace the spirit of sportsmanship in the forthcoming elections.”

Kalu’s senatorial ambition: Would PDP’s umbrella contain all this time?

“No one has monopoly of power to make anyone Sen­ator except God and one’s constituents. I believe that the beauty of democracy is fair-play and the President has promised a level playing ground for all aspirants…”

 The above were the words of former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu as he picked his nomination form to run for Abia North Senatorial seat on the platform of the PDP ahead of the 2015 elections. Kalu who said that he picked his nomination form at Wadata Plaza, informed that his move in doing that, having served his state as governor between the period of 1999-2007, was because he has had numerous calls from and by his people in that respect to represent them again, not as governor, but as senator this time around.

 Be­fore venturing into politics, according to Kalu, he had been empowering his people same way when he was in public office, so based on this, he’s confident of victory. He believes that it is on the desk of the people to decide who their representative should be and not any person in the state. As a great man Kalu is, it is obvious that some persons who think themselves power brokers in Abia are now jittery for this time-consuming move by Kalu, because the lion has come back to her fold.

 It is obvious that Abia North Senatorial District that Kalu hails from is now engulfed in rainbow of thoughtfulness among the infinitesimal group that remorse Kalu because of politics. It could be recalled that barely five days to the 2011 senatorial elections in Abia State, the Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) nearly went into rubbles following the oligarchic approach of Governor T.A Orji that targeted two party muscular members, Chief Ojo Maduekwe and Senate President, David Mark. The governor feared the overwhelming weight of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPA) senatorial candidate and former governor of the state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.

 Governor T.A Orji against David Mark
As it was to the build up for the election in 2011, Governor Theodore Orji pushed for the PDP candidate, Uche Chukwumerije and persuaded the people from that Abia North constituency to vote for Chukwumerije. The governor is from Abia Central, while Kalu and Chukwumerije who were the major contenders in that election come from Abia North Senatorial District.
The governor was doing that, because of the resentment that he has shown to Kalu – the man that spent his resources and energy and he became governor in the 2007 elections? Against this backdrop, many people from Abia State had wished Maduekwe would be national chairman of the PDP, but the governor was out and was pushing Chukwumerije to become senator in order to represent the Senate President David Mark. But as nature wanted it, Mark was fully out of returning to the National Assembly as president of the Senate.
According to a report in a national paper with the title, “Abia North Tears PDP Apart”, March 29, 2011, “Apparently, Governor Orji is not comfortable with having Maduekwe, who is from Ohafia in Abia North as PDP chairman, and is, therefore, pushing Chukwumerije as Senate president even when he has not won a third-term ticket. Governor Orji knows that following the party’s continuity arrangement, Senator Mark, who is a strong backer of President Goodluck Jonathan, has brighter chances of winning Senatorial elections than Chukwumerije.”


Kalu as his rivals’ waterloo
Kalu was not making noise within the period. He allowed ‘noisemakers’ make the noise, while he used his head. As the source had it, Emeka Obasi who’s Kalu’s aid, in his postulation said: “That is a sweet umbrella battle. Kalu is their waterloo. Expectedly, the ‘Otimkpu’ regime has started playing ‘kalo-kalo,’ building castles in the air.

“This is just a ploy to knock out Maduekwe from the PDP chairmanship race. I hope Senator Mark is watching. No governor has the power to anoint a Senate president. Elections have not even been held. And you know it is now one- man, one- vote. No Federal might, no state power.”

(Obasi described the move as further proof that the Abia State government had run short of ideas, speedily turning into an island in the Igbo hinterland), while he continued, according to the source, “Believe it, we have a pariah government in Abia. The First Lady had since distanced herself from their terminological inexactitudes.

“The Chief-of-Army staff Gen. Azubuike Ihejirika, a worthy son of the state, said the army would not take part in politics. Somebody, somewhere wallowing in delusion, thought the renovated military presence in Ohafia would be part of their kitchen cabinet. And just Saturday in Abuja, Governor Chibuike Amechi rightly proclaimed Mr. President as a Rivers son-in-law. Now the umbrella in Abia cannot cover anybody.”

Would the PDP’s umbrella accommodate all this time?

Abia North is made up of Arochukwu, Bende, Isiukwuato, Ohafia and Umunneochi council areas. Chukwumerije hails from Umunneochi Local Government Area. Senator Uche Chukwumerije, who is the Chairman, Senate Committee on Education, won in that 2011 election and is still interested in picking the PDP ticket in the Abia North Senatorial zone in 2015.

However, he had fallen apart with Chief Obasanjo-led PDP when he mounted pressure against the third term agenda, when he won his first senatorial election in 2003-2007. When Obasanjo’s heat was much on him, he genuflected to the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) (the party that Kalu built) in 2006 and was reelected to the Senate in April 2007. It was obvious that Kalu was rigged out of the election in 2011 with the arsenal of security operatives that were heavily present in Abia North.

Kalu rejects result
A total of 11 political parties participated in the election in Abia North. By April 11 2011, the news was everywhere that Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu had rejected the result of the April 10 2011, which declared Chukwumerije winner of the Abia North senatorial election, announced by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) declared Chukwumerije the winner.



Kalu vowed to challenge the outcome in court of competent jurisdiction. In the result, the commission said Kalu polled 34, 188 votes, while Chukwumerije scored 83, 206 votes. Kalu’s words for rejecting the result were: “The result of the election announced by the INEC does not represent the wish of the people of Abia North. I make bold to say that I won in four of the five local government areas in Abia North Senatorial District.



“I am going to challenge the result in a court of law because it was not a true reflection of how people voted during the election. I believe in the judiciary and I am very hopeful that I will claim my victory at the court.”



It is pertinent to say that Kalu cried out that he did not win in Umunneochi Local Government was based on a so-called unapproachable presence of soldiers that terrified entitled voters away from exercising their civic responsibilities. So, it behooves on the Federal authorities and the INEC to get the election right this time, so that no one cries out of blue murder and arm-twisting in 2015.



Rubby Obinna writes from Ohaji, Imo State.

KALU HAILS UDUAGHAN AT 60

Eminent businessman and former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Kalu, has described, Governor of Delta State, Dr. Emmanuel Uduaghan,  as a consummate politician, who has impacted lives positively.He made the remark in a congratulatory message to the governor who turns 60 on Wednesday, October 22.

Kalu in a statement signed by his Special Adviser, Kunle Oyewumi, said,”As you attain the age of 60, I join your family, friends and well-wishers to celebrate this milestone. You have touched lives in different capacities especially with the laudable programmes of your administration in Delta state. We cannot ask for more than to thank God for your life.  It is my prayer that God Almighty will continue to bless you in health and wisdom to steer the ship of Delta State”
He urged the celebrant to see the grace of life as a challenge to continue his good work in Delta State.

ORJI KALU FOUNDATION TAKES FREE MEDICAL SCHEME TO IGBERE

Orji Uzor Kalu foundation has launched a free medical scheme to treat the elderly people in Abia North from 15th to 18th October 2014. The scheme was kicked off in Igbere by the former governor of Abia state, His Excellency, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu.

From Igbere the medical team will move to Ohafia, Bende, Umunneochi, Arochukwu, Uzuakoli, Isuikwuato etc.

Acording to Kalu, the free medical scheme is a program initiated by him and his wife Dr. Mrs Ify Uzor Kalu to provide medical relief to elderly people, most of whom can not afford their medical bills. “This is borne out of my passion for the people, even when I was the governor, it was a cardinal policy of my administration to always send medical teams to take care of the elderly all over the state.”

He said the program is not only for the Abia north but will cover the 36 states of the federation including Abuja.

KALU EXTOLS GOWON'S VIRTUES

Eminent business mogul and former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Kalu, has congratulated former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon (retd),as he turns 80 on Sunday.
 
The former governor while extolling the virtues of General Gowon acknowledged the exemplary leadership qualities of the elder statesman.
 
Kalu, in his tribute to General Gowon captioned "GO ON WITH ONE NIGERIA", noted that General Gowon's administration laid the foundation of an indivisible Nigeria.
 
The tribute reads:"There is only one leader whose name has been turned into an acronym for national unity and cohesion.  He is General (Dr) Yakubu Gowon.  His last name, during his time in office, was interpreted to mean: GO ON WITH ONE NIGERIA (GOWON)”.
 
“And how fitting the acronym was.  For it was under Gen Gowon that Nigeria fought a gruelling 30 months' civil war that had the potential of breaking the country to pieces.  But through deft nationalistic leadership, Gowon took Nigeria through the war, and at the end, declared "No Victor, No Vanquished".  He also affirmed the 3 Rs, standing for Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation.  There is no way the history of Nigeria would be written without Gen Gowon being given his due.”

“As he turns 80, what can I do than to thank God for the life of this great man?  He got into power at a youthful age, held that power with maturity and decency for nine years, and today, almost 40 years after, he is still serving the country with his wealth of knowledge, offering worthy advice to the younger generation.

“To our dear Gen Yakubu Gowon, I’ll just say as he turns 80: please, Go On With One Nigeria.”
 
As the celebrant marks his 80th birthday, Kalu prayed God to grant General Gowon excellent health in his service to God and humanity.

2015: Kalu Urges Jonathan To Retain Sambo

ORMER Abia State Governor, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has urged President Goodluck Jonathan not to buckle under pressure to drop Vice President Alhaji Namadi Sambo as his running mate when he declares to seek re- election In 2015.

This is just as the former governor has picked his nomination form to run for Abia North Senatorial seat  under the platform of the PDP.

He described those pushing for the dropping of Sambo as political jobbers who are only out to create disaffection in the seat of power.

He said those routing for other persons as running mate for the president are the enemy of the ruling party.

Kalu said dropping the vice president would amount to a disincentive for the loyalty Sambo has demonstrated as a good deputy and ally who is not ambitious to rock  the boat .

  Speaking in an interview Friday on his departure  to overseas at the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, Ikeja, Lagos, Kalu dismissed insinuations making the round that Jonathan was buckling under pressure in some quartets to consider the governor of Katsina , Alhaji Ibrahim Shema , the national chairman of the People’s Democratic Party ( PDP ), Alhaji Adamu Muazu or the Jigawa State Governor, Alhaji Sule Lamido as his running mate .

  Kalu said :” Considering the good working relationship between the duo of President Jonathan and Vice President Namadi Sambo, the wise thing is to allow the same team fly the party flag.

  “Not only that Sambo has been loyal to the president, he has also supported and added value to the transformation agenda of the present administration.

  “In order to ensure effectiveness and efficiency in government, the president gave a mandate for the vice president to oversee some government agencies and technical committees for which, Sambo has performed credibly well. In addition, he has also contributed to the party especially by maintaining peace and unity in PDP especially in the North.”