ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- Former Governor of Abia State and current Senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has revealed that he personally financed the state during his tenure as governor, stating that he never derived any personal benefit from holding public office.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Politics Today on Monday, Kalu said he has consistently used his own money to serve both as a governor and now as a senator.
According to him, politics has brought more personal loss than gain, with many of his businesses being sealed by the Federal Government of Nigeria during his governorship.
“I spent my own money being governor, like I am spending my money today being a Senator. I used to finance the state, that is the truth,” Kalu said.
“I never benefited from anything being governor, rather, I lost a lot of money. The Federal Government took a lot of my businesses. So, politics has been very dangerous to me.”
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The former governor, who led Abia State from 1999 to 2007, recounted his early success in business, claiming to have made millions by the age of 24.
He further asserted that he was a key financial backbone during the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), even funding President Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidential campaign in 1998.
“Ask any PDP member, I brought most of the money they used in 1998 and 1999. I put a lot of money at a time. By then, dollar was big money. I gave President Obasanjo over $1 million to campaign, I gave the party over N500 million,” he claimed.
When asked if he still held any grudges against former President Obasanjo under whose administration his businesses were allegedly shut down, Kalu responded that there was no animosity between them.
“I am not quarreling with him (Obasanjo), he is the best friend of the family. My mother has a lot of respect for him, my late father had a lot of respect for him. So, he is still a family, I don’t quarrel with anybody,” Kalu said.
Turning to the current economic situation in the country, Kalu acknowledged President Bola Tinubu’s reform efforts but admitted that the positive effects had yet to be felt by the majority of Nigerians.
“It will take like, three more years for the reforms to start having a positive impact on the economy,” he stated.