ORJI UZOR KALU'S STEWARDSHIP AS ABIA STATE GOVERNOR

By Ogechukwu Ubah (Abia Writers)
Edited by Livingrich Ezeikpe
Orji Uzor Kalu was the governor of Abia State for eight years from May 29, 1999, to May 29 2007. Within that period, Abia state was a mirage. He used the state money to fund his Ship, Media, and Construction businesses. He is the owner of the Sun and New Telegraph Newspapers; he also owns a construction company known as " SLOK ".

He constructed some roads in Abia state, among them, are; - Ngwa road, Ibadan street, Ehi road, e.t.c. The most popular among them is the waterside bridge, which is called Orji Uzor Bridge. Of the roads he constructed, none of them lasted up to one year, the only one that is still motorable is the waterside bridge. Roads like Ehi road was tarred already, but he re-coated it because of some bad areas; unfortunately, the areas did not stand the taste of time. He used his construction company Slok to construct these roads. Instead of awarding the contract of those roads to a better construction company, he syphoned Abia state money through his construction company in the name of constructing roads.

During his tenure, he governed Abia state through his mother, by name Eunice Uzor Kalu, a divorcee popularly known and addressed as (Odiuko Namba). Before you can get an elective or government appointment in Abia state, be it local government Chairman, Commissioner or any other, you must go through an initiation process by his mother at No 15 Nweke street G R A in Aba by way of peeling melon. The mother always has bags of unpeeled melon for the initiation programs, whatever that means, people don't know, whether they are using it to strengthen their occultic power in government is what people can't tell.

Another program introduced by his mother is called O U K, (Orji Uzor Kalu) supporters. The primary aim of this group was sycophancy and nothing else. Abia state government was paying this group salary and also sponsored their uniform, which has the picture and name of Orji Uzor or his mother on it. They used this uniform for their social and campaign programs.

Orji Uzor had a healthy wife called Ifeoma Orji Uzor Kalu before he became the governor of Abia state. The moment he becomes governor, the wife fell sick mentally. She visited many foreign hospitals for treatment without success; she never functioned as governor's wife during her husband's tenure because of ill health. What Orji Uzor Kalu and his mother did to this woman is beyond description. Is this the kind of person, the one that you will vote for in any elective position?