I’m a businessman who went into politics to serve, not to profit
Despite decades in public service, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu insists he is not a politician and claims he has never benefited from politics. The former governor of Abia State, who now represents Abia North in the Senate, said his wealth was built through business ventures long before entering politics.
“I made so much money under 24. I did not benefit anything from being a governor,” Kalu said. He added that he used personal funds to run the state and to support the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) at its inception.
“I brought the money they used in forming the PDP,” he claimed. “I gave President Obasanjo over $1 million to campaign. I gave the party $500 million.”
According to him, the funds came from his thriving businesses. “I am the biggest importer of rice, sugar, confectionaries, and the rest of them and I was also selling petrol,” he said.
Kalu stated that politics had cost him financially, noting, “I lost a lot of money as a state governor.”