… Cites imposition of candidates
Former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, has withdrawn from the 2015 senatorial race.
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.
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