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.