Kalu: Why I’m Missing PDP Reconciliation Committee Visit Today

Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu

As the reconciliation committee set up by the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to resolve the crisis between some personalities in the state is holding in Abia State today, a former governor of the state, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, yesterday expressed regret that he would not be attending the meeting.

Kalu, in a message sent from his iPad, said he was in faraway China.
“It has just been brought to my attention that a reconciliation committee set up by our great party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) would be visiting Abia State today, Monday, September 22, 2014.
“I regret that this laudable initiative is taking place at a time I am outside the country, in faraway China, on a business trip. It would have been my pleasure to welcome the reconciliation committee to our dear state as one of the founding members of the party.

“I will like to state emphatically that having such committee to reconcile various contending interests round the country is the way to go. For President Goodluck Jonathan to have a landslide victory back to office after general election next year, PDP must close ranks round the country.

“We need a cohesive front. As they say, the more the merrier. We do not need to antagonise any interest. In unity and cohesion, PDP will not only win the Presidency with ease, but as many gubernatorial and National Assembly seats as possible, round the country,” he said.

He pledged his support for the reconciliation exercise, “not only in Abia State, but in all parts of the country where such is necessary,” adding that “I salute our party leaders past and present, and urge them to count on my support and goodwill at all times.”

Governor Theodore Orji and his predecessor have had a frosty relationship, especially with claims that Kalu is not a member of the PDP, and to underscore that the relationship between the two is still unhealthy, Kalu, in a recent television interview, challenged Orji to give account of the revenue he has collected from the Federation Account and Allocation Committee (FAAC) in the past seven years, which he said runs into over N1 trillion.

He said he plans to engage reputable audit firms including PriceWaterHouseCooper to audit the account of the state during his eight years tenure as chief executive and the last seven years in terms of how much was collected from the Federation Account.