Posted by By CHUKS ONUOHA, Umuahia on
Former Abia State governor and presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has blamed his current travails on refusal to support ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo's third term bid.
Former Abia State governor and presidential candidate of the Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), Dr Orji Uzor Kalu, has blamed his current travails on refusal to support ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo's third term bid.
Kalu made the statement while addressing a crowd at his hilltop family home in Igbere, Abia State, during a courtesy visit by a delegation of the Ohaneze Ndigbo.
Kalu also assured the Ndigbo that he has a divine mandate to be the president of Nigeria and that no amount of conspiracy by his detractors could foil the plan of God in his life.
He said further that if people like him and Senator Uche Chukwumerije had succumbed to the temptations of third term, there would not have been a President Umaru Yar'Adua.
'There would have been 3rd term, 4th term, 5th term, 6th term and even president for life for Obasanjo.
We staked our lives on it. The price I am paying today is the price of refusing to agree with Obasanjo," Kalu said.
The PPA presidential candidate said that Abia was the only state where Obasanjo came twice to campaign for a candidate and yet he did not win.
He disclosed on the occasion that he was writing a book entitled MY LIFE in which he would reveal hidden facts about Obasanjo and many other people in Nigeria and his on-going travail.
Kalu debunked all allegations for which he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and thanked Ndigbo for the support they gave him during the 2007 elections.
'I want to thank Ndigbo even though you were not given the opportunity to vote for me. The result was written, there was no election," Kalu said. He said he would not want to talk on corruption as the case is before a court of competent jurisdiction.
'I cannot say that I am corrupt or not. If the court of first instance did not give me justice, the second will," Kalu stated, adding that he has faith in the judiciary. He said all he had been passing through were aimed at suppressing the nation called Igbo, stating that without Igbos, Nigeria cannot move forward. He assured Ohaneze that it was still morning and that he had no other job besides politics. 'Every morning I wake up, I wake with politics, I talk politics, I eat politics and I drink politics," Kalu emphasised. He told the Ohaneze that he was good for the fight, which would help the Igbos to achieve their dream of producing a president.
'In a fight of this nature, one person must be in front for others to follow. I am going to be an instrument to the restructuring of Nigeria," Kalu said. Earlier, President of Ohaneze, Dr Dozie Ikedife, had told Kalu that Ohaneze were not fair weather friends and that Kalu was a big name from the womb and that it was somebody like him that could lead the Igbo to the promised land. 'Orji Kalu has age and years to his advantage.
Even though this one has gone, we are expecting you to come up. Do not disappoint us. They have ruled us, we shall also rule. We are here to identify with you, do not disappoint us," Ikedife pleaded.
The meeting featured important Igbo sons, including Admiral Ndubuisi Kanu, Senator Uche Chukwumerije, Elder Chief Sir Onyeaso, Eze Ukandu, Eze Ogugua, Igwe Kenneth Orizu, Prof Joshua Ogbonna, Mrs Esther Anele, Chief Emma Adiele, and many others.