The senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, says he provided money for meetings, aircraft and other logistical arrangements during the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), alleging that the party later turned against him despite his contributions.
Kalu also claimed that he financed the activities of former President Olusegun Obasanjo after his release from prison, including arranging aircraft for his travels.
He made the disclosures during an interview on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme on Monday night.
“I wasn’t the only one with money, to be honest. People like the present Vice President, he had the former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, he had money, Yomi Edu had money. Many other people and, at the end, General Theophilus Danjuma brought in a lot of money to the party also.
“But I was the one funding the meetings, aircraft, paying honorariums to people that came from cooking food and all the rest of them. That is the truth,” he said.
Kalu explained that he made the contributions because he wanted to establish a strong political party capable of ending military rule and restoring democratic governance.
However, he said he felt betrayed after committing money and other resources to the PDP, claiming that members of the party later turned against him.
“I became a food before the PDP because after bringing all the money, they turned against me,” he said.
When the interviewer suggested that he had benefited from the party by becoming governor of Abia State under its platform, Kalu disagreed, arguing that his financial contributions to the PDP outweighed what he gained from holding public office.
“Governor means nothing for what I gave to them. I gave them live wire. When people had no money, I brought in the money to form the party,” he said.
The senator also recalled supporting Obasanjo after his release from prison, saying he hosted the former president at his Victoria Island residence and helped pay for his movements.
“When President Obasanjo came out of prison, he was in my house. He used to be in Victoria Island. I started funding him, started funding his aircraft, started hiring aircraft and bringing my own aircraft to take him.
“What I got in return is killing off my businesses,” Kalu said.
He further claimed that his political involvement contributed to the collapse of some of his businesses, noting that he had been financially successful before venturing into public office.
Kalu served as governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007.
The senator had previously claimed that he gave the PDP its first N500m and contributed more than N100m towards Obasanjo’s 1998 presidential campaign.
In a March 2017 report by The PUNCH, the former Abia governor also alleged that the party later took over his bank, airline and oil licence.
During Monday’s interview, Kalu also spoke about his relationship with former military Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, whom he described as his mentor and a person he continued to respect.
Asked whether he received financial benefits from the relationship, Kalu denied it, saying, “I had a lot of friendly benefits from that relationship.”