Godfather and godson battle

As Saturday’s aldermanic acclamation approaches, two-term Governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, and his conflicting godson, Governor Theodore Orji, are bound in a action of supremacy in the 24-year-old state, writes Stephen Ukandu
Saturday’s aldermanic acclamation will not be a tea affair in Abia State, area aloft Governor Orji Uzor Kalu is eyeing the Abia-North aldermanic bench and bounden Governor Theodore Orji is eyeing the Abia-Central aldermanic seat. Although the two men are not disturbing for the aforementioned seat, the supremacy action amid them is accepted to hit a acme in a few days’ time.
Born on April 21, 1960, Kalu started out aboriginal in activity with $35 he adopted from his mother. With the money, Kalu began trading in approach oil by affairs the artefact from the again Eastern Region and affairs it in the Northern Region. He afterwards delved into affairs and reselling appliance on a ample scale.
Before acid his business teeth and
basic a advancing business empire, Kalu became the youngest Nigerian to accept the Civic Merit Award at the age of 26 in 1986. He came into accessible reckoning if he served as Chairman, Borno Water Lath and Chairman, Cooperative and Commerce Bank. Kalu served as Governor of Abia Accompaniment amid 1999 and 2007 on the belvedere of the Peoples Democratic Party. Kalu larboard the PDP to anatomy the Progressive Peoples Accord and served as the party’s lath of advisers chairman. Imbued with the acceptance that the Igbo should arise the country’s presidency, Kalu, who supports the could cause of the Ndigbo, emerged PPA’s presidential applicant in the April 2007 accepted acclamation and charcoal a affiliate of the PPA.
After captivation amplitude as governor for eight years, Kalu absitively to bestow his political administration to his godson, Orji, whom he alone chose and foisted on the affair admitting attrition by some abutting aides.
The affirmation by Kalu that Orji should accomplish him afterwards angry out to be a miscalculation as the brace afterwards fell out in about two years. Kalu, who accepted he foisted Orji as the applicant of the party, said: “Orji was ambuscade his accurate colours from me. Everybody warned me because what they were seeing, I wasn’t seeing. He was one abettor I had who never ate on the aforementioned table with me for eight years. Something was wrong. All my commissioners, all my Special Advisers, all the humans I formed with, the Speaker of the House, associates of the House of Assembly, all of them ate at my table.”
Orji, in 2009, became afflictive with the accord that he no best fabricated pretensions that he was beneath a “political bondage” in the easily of his political godfather. Some political watchers said he was alone a stooge while the accord lasted as Kalu bent how the accompaniment was ruled. A adherent of Orji, who batten on action of anonymity said, “It was so bad that Orji was said to accept no say on who became a affiliate of his chiffonier but was affected to endorse any account of commissioners handed over to him by Kalu.”
In 2010, Orji mustered the adventuresomeness to yield his afterlife in his hands. He declared political abandon from Kalu and his mother, Eunice, who has immense socio-political access in Abia Accompaniment and beyond. Orji accused the Kalus of active Abia as a clandestine estate. He afterwards dumped Kalu’s PPA, the belvedere on which he came on board, and had a abrupt abode in the All Progressives Grand Accord afore assuredly abrogation to the PDP.
As the action raged, loyalists of both gladiators abutting the fray. Orji’s aloft deputy, Chief Chris Akomas, who was said to be loyal to Orji, became the aboriginal blow in the arising ability bold as he was accusable by the accompaniment House of Assembly. Shortly afterwards that some commissioners, added political aides and Kalu’s men, who banned to crossover to Orji’s affected were aswell consumed.
But Kalu is no political amateur and his political access cannot be underestimated. Indeed, some political watchers accept that anyone who underrates the political ability of the aloft governor does so at his own peril. It is aswell believed that Kalu, a stupendously affluent baby-kisser with lots of business conglomerates will by itself arrange his astronomic abundance to actualise his ambition. He is already on an advancing attack in all communities in the zone.
Orji’s political accessory and applicant for Abia-North aldermanic ticket, Chief Mao Ohuabunwa (PDP), admitting added articulate than Kalu, is by far no bout to the ex-governor’s banking muscle. Abounding ‘Abians’ accept that Kalu would blemish the affair for Ohuabunwa. Investigations accept aswell appear that abounding PDP politicians, who acquainted afflicted at the party’s primaries, are switching adherence to Kalu.
However, admitting the abhorrence of Kalu’s influence, associates of Orji’s political ancestors accept boasted that Kalu will eat the apprehensive pie by Saturday.
But the suspicion in some abode that Kalu has accustomed assurances from “powers from above,” is abundant in the air. Abounding accept that the ‘Abuja support’ is confined as an catalyst for Kalu’s assurance to see that President Goodluck Jonathan wins next Saturday’s presidential election.
Just afresh during the presidential assemblage of the PDP in Umuahia, Abia Accompaniment capital, the Civic Administrator of the PDP, Alhaji Adamu Mu’azu , Kalu’s adolescence acquaintance and aloft colleague, aboveboard appealed to the humans of the accompaniment to accept Kalu – who is still a affiliate of the PPA – aback into the PDP fold. He said that Kalu was already alive with them at the civic level.