Despite his years of service in politics, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu maintains that he is not a politician, stating that he has never benefited from politics.
The Senator representing the people of Abia North insisted that he is a businessman who has continued to set up businesses to employ Nigerians.
Kalu, who served as governor of Abia State from 1999 to 2007, said he had made a lot of money before he joined politics.
He said he donated $1 million to the PDP at its founding in 1998 and used his personal funds to run Abia State as governor.
“I made so much money under 24. I did not benefit anything from being a governor. I brought the money they used in forming the PDP. As any PDP member, I brought most of the money they used in 1998 and 1999.”
Asked where he got the money to fund the party, he said it was from his businesses.
“I am the biggest importer of rice, sugar, confectionaries, and the rest of them and I was also selling petrol,” he said.
Then, dollar was big money, I gave President Obasanjo over $1 million to campaign. I gave the party $500 million. The only few people who could have brought money then were TY Danjuma and Atiku Abubakar, others had no money to bring and that’s the truth.”
Reiterating his claim that he does not benefit from politics, the Senator said he lost a lot of money as a state governor.
“The Federal Government took a lot of my businesses. So, for me, politics has been more dangerous to me,” he said.
