Abia North Senator, Orji Uzor Kalu, has revealed that he financially supported former President Olusegun Obasanjo shortly after his release from prison, including funding his travels and providing aircraft for his movements.
The former Abia State governor also disclosed that he contributed substantial financial resources to the formation and activities of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), but was eventually betrayed by the party.
Kalu made the revelations on Monday night while appearing as a guest on Arise Television’s Prime Time programme.
He lamented that despite his financial contributions to the PDP and support for prominent political figures, his businesses were allegedly destroyed in return.
The senator explained that he was among the early financiers of the PDP when the party was working to end military rule and establish democratic governance in Nigeria.
According to him, he personally financed party meetings, provided aircraft, paid honorariums and catered for participants before other prominent wealthy individuals joined in supporting the party.
Kalu acknowledged that several influential Nigerians, including former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Yomi Edun and businessman TY Danjuma, also contributed financially to the party.
He, however, maintained that he had started providing financial support before some of the prominent contributors came on board.
He said:
“I wasn’t the only one with money; to be honest, people like the former vice president Atiku Abubakar had money, Yomi Edun had money, and many other people, and in the end, TY Danjuma brought in a lot of money to the party.
“So I was the one funding the meetings, aircraft, paying honorariums to people, cooking food, and the rest of them. For me, it was a joyful thing to make sure that we had a strong party to drive away the military, and that was the PDP.
“I was very happy, but I became a fool before the PDP because after bringing all the money, they turned against me.”
The former governor further recalled how he supported Obasanjo financially after the latter regained his freedom from prison.
According to Kalu, Obasanjo stayed at his residence in Victoria Island, Lagos, following his release, while he provided aircraft and other financial assistance to facilitate his movements.
He alleged that despite his sacrifices and contributions to the party, he received no meaningful benefits in return, claiming that his business interests were instead targeted.
He added:
“I could have been a governor whether on their platform or another platform; I gave them lifewire when people had no money, I brought in the money to fund the party.
“Before big weights like Danjuma started bringing in money to support the party, I started bringing money, started funding like Obasanjo when he came out of prison; he was in my house in Victoria Island, and I funded him, started funding his aircraft, started hiring and bringing my aircraft to take him, so they didn’t do anything for me; what I got in return was the killing of my businesses.”
Kalu’s remarks offer a fresh account of his early financial involvement in the PDP and his relationship with key political figures during Nigeria’s transition from military rule to democracy.
