FORMER Governor of Abia State, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, has disclosed he gave $1 million to former President Olusegun Obasanjo and N500 million to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, in 1998.
Kalu speaking on Channels TV’s Politics Today programme, also claimed he spent his personal money to run the State, though the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, charged him for allegedly stealing N7.56 billion of Abia State treasury.
“I put a lot of money at the time, by then, dollar was big money. A Dollar was N84. I gave President Olusegun Obasanjo over $1 million. I gave the party (PDP) over N500 million to start the party.
“They were looking for money. The only few people who could have brought money then were TY Danjuma and Atiku Abubakar. Others had no money. All those people had no money to bring. And that is the truth,” Kalu said.
Kalu continued, “I spend my own money being Governor, like I’m spending my money today being Senator. I used to finance the State. That is, I never benefited anything from being Governor. Rather, I lost a lot of money. The Federal Government took a lot of my businesses. So for me, politics had been more dangerous under the Obasanjo Federal Government at the time.”
The Senator said he was more anxious to see Nigerians eating three meals a day, and using good roads.
“I’m more anxious to see Nigerians eating three meals a day, going on good roads, going to good train stations, going to all these things, working in a decent factory and making decent money,” he said.
“So for me, we are all friends (politicians). All this abusing Tinubu, abusing Orji Kalu, abusing Atiku Abubakar, abusing Amaechi should stop. What I think we should do, we should sit down as a family, talk about the needs of Nigerian people and deliver to them.”
A Lagos Division of the Federal High Court, on 5 December 2019, sentenced Orji Kalu, to 12 years in prison for N7.56 billion fraud. He had been sworn in as Senator, and Senate Chief, six months earlier.
In one of the counts, the EFCC alleged that Kalu, who was Abia State Governor between 1999 and 2007, “did procure Slok Nigeria Limited – a company solely owned by you and members of your family – to retain in its account, domiciled with the then Inland Bank Plc, Apapa branch, Lagos, an aggregate sum of N7,197,871,208.7 on your behalf.”
The prosecution claimed that the N7.1 billion “formed part of the funds illegally derived from the treasury of the Abia State Government and which was converted into several bank drafts before they were paid into the said company’s account.”
The Supreme Court on Friday, 8 May 2020, annulled Orji’s conviction on a technicality. According to the unanimous judgment of the Supreme Court delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, the declaration of the judgment as a nullity was on the ground that Justice Mohammed Idris who delivered the judgment was already sworn in as a Justice of the Court of Appeal at the time and so could not act in the capacity of a judge of the High Court.
The Supreme Court directed that the case be reassigned for trial. Kalu was immediately freed from Kuje Prison where he was serving his sentence.
Kalu returned to the Senate. He represents Abia North. Most recently, Kalu asked for a review of the entitlements of Senators, saying that the N14m he was paid monthly, was barely enough to fuel his vehicle monthly for visits to his constituency.
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