Orji Uzor Kalu (born 21 April 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman who is the senator representing Abia North Senatorial District.[1] He served as governor of Abia State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Kalu is the chairman of SLOK Holding and the Daily Sun and New Telegraph newspapers in Nigeria.[2]
Prior to his election, he served as the chairman of the Borno Water Board and the chairman of the Cooperative and Commerce Bank Limited. Kalu was also a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA) and the chairman of the PPA Board of Trustees. He was the party's presidential candidate in the April 2007 general election.[3] He is currently a member of the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after he officially announced his resignation as the PPA BOT chair.
Kalu was born to the family of Mr. Johnson Uzor Nesiegbe Kalu and Mrs Eunice Kalu.
With only $35 to his name that he had borrowed from his mother, Kalu began trading palm oil, first buying the oil from Nigeria's eastern regions and then selling it in the country's northern regions.[6] He then began buying and reselling furniture on a large scale.
Kalu eventually established SLOK Holding, a conglomerate that would consist of a number of successful companies, including the Ojialex Furniture Company, SLOK Nigeria Limited, SLOK United Kingdom Limited, Adamawa Publishers Limited, SLOK Vegetable Oil, Aba, SLOK Paper Factory, Aba, SLOK United States Incorporated, SLOK Ghana, Togo, Cotonou, Guinea, South Africa, Liberia, Botswana, SLOK Korea, Supreme Oil Limited, SLOK Airlines, Sun Publishing Limited, and First International Bank Limited.
Kalu became the youngest Nigerian to receive the National Merit Award from President Ibrahim Babangida, at the age of 26 in 1986. He was selected as the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce's Industrialist of the Year, and awarded the Humanitarian Award of the University of Nigeria, Nsukka's Humanitarian Club, the Volunteer Award of the International Association of Volunteers, the National Merit Award, the EU Special Award in Brussels, and the World BankLeon Sullivan Award.[3][7]
Education
He attended Christ the King School Aba and Government College Umuahia. After studying at Barewa College, Zaria, he enrolled in the University of Maiduguri where he studied political science.[8] During his time at the university, Kalu became a student activist, and participated in the "Ali Must Go"[9] riots against the education minister.[10] His participation resulted in his suspension. While his fellow students later took the school authorities to court, Kalu left school to build his own business.[7]
Kalu headed First International Bank Limited at the age of 33.[11] He also stewarded Nigerian commercial relations with China's SinoPacific Shipbuilding company while serving as a principal of SLOK Holding.[12]
On 11 July 2007, Kalu was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges of corruption while serving as the governor of Abia State.[13] He was later released on bail, and accused the Obasanjo regime of persecuting him during and after his tenure in office, an accusation mentioned by former U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria John Campbell in his book, "Nigeria: Dancing on the Brink."[14]
Kalu has been a staunch supporter of President Muhammadu Buhari, a "close friend and father, who deserves all the support to make Nigeria better."[15]
On 8 August 2023, He was named the chairman, Senate committee on privatization in the 10th senate[16]
Newspapers
Kalu is the chairman of the Daily Sun, a Nigerian daily print newspaper founded and published in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria.[17] The newspaper had a daily circulation of 130,000 copies as of 2011, and 135,000 for weekend titles, with an average of 80% sales. The Daily Sun was the highest selling newspaper in Nigeriahttps://www.newspapers-list.com/nigeria/the-sun-nigeria.php. The Daily Sun was incorporated on 29 March 2001, and began production as a weekly Newspaper on 18 January 2003, and as a daily newspaper on 16 June 2003. The newspaper is similar in format to The Sun in the United Kingdom.
Kalu is also the chairman of the New Telegraph, with a circulation of 100,000 copies per day. The newspaper targets domestic and foreign readers in major urban centers throughout the country and offers objective coverage of political, social, and cultural issues.[18]
Njiko Igbo Movement
Kalu is involved with the Njiko Igbo Movement, whose purpose is to help secure the presidential seat for a Nigerian citizen of Igbo extraction; an Igbo has only held the position of head of state for six months since Nigeria became a presidential republic in 1966.[19]
The movement has branches and support groups throughout the diaspora.[20] Kalu launched the organization together with former Nigerian Senator Emmanuel Onwe, a human rights advocate and lawyer earlier based in the United Kingdom.
Conviction
Kalu was convicted by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on Thursday, 5 December 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for N7.65 billion fraud.[21] He was convicted for defrauding the government of Abia State where he was a governor for 8 years using his company, Slok Nigeria Limited. Days after the court ordered the forfeiture of the company, Nigeria anti graft agency, Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC commenced the process of winding down Slok Nigeria Limited including The Sun Publishing Ltd which was not part of the charges. Consequently, The Sun Publishing Ltd approached a high Court in Lagos for interpretation of the judgment that convicted Kalu and Slok Nigeria Limited asking the court to compel EFCC to stay away from The Sun Publishing Ltd since it was not part of the court case.[22][23][24][25] He was held in custody at the Ikoyi prisons in Lagos.[26]
In December, Kalu filed a bail application at a Lagos High Court pending the determination of his appeal against his conviction. On 23 December 2019 the court rejected his bail application for lack of merit.[27][28][29]
On Friday,8 May 2020, the Supreme Court of Nigeria ruled that his trial was wrongly conducted and released him from prison while ordering a retrial.[30]
On Friday morning, the Supreme Court deemed Mr Kalu's conviction inappropriate and ordered a retrial of the case, according to multiple media reports out of the court.
A seven-member panel of the apex court, in a unanimous verdict delivered by Justice Ejembi Eko, declared that the conviction null and void, Channels TV reported Friday.
According to the report, Justice Eko declared that Justice Mohammed Idris, who convicted Mr Kalu, had already become a justice of the Court of Appeal, when he ruled and sentenced Mr Kalu and his co-defendant as a trial judge.
He held that a Justice of the Court of Appeal cannot operate as a judge of the Federal High Court, and ordered the Chief Judge of the Federal High Court to reassign the case for trial. Kalu was released from the custody of the Nigerian Correctional ServiceKuje on Wednesday 3 June 2020.[31]
Personal life
Kalu married Ms. Ifeoma Ada Menakaya in December 1989, and they got married in his hometown of Igbere, Abia State.[32]
He has four children namely: Neya Uzor Kalu, Michael Uzor Kalu, Olivia Uzor Kalu and Nicole Uzor Kalu.[33][34][35]
Timeline
1999: He was elected as the Governor of Abia State on People's Democratic Party (PDP).[36]
2006: He left People's Democratic Party (PDP) and found Progressive People's Alliance (PPA).[36]
2007: He contested for the Presidential Seat on the PPA platform.[36]
2007: His corruption trial began and he was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFFC) in 2007.[36]
2011: He contested as the Abia North Senatorial candidate on the PPA platform.[36]
2012: He re-joined the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).[36]
2015: He later returned to Progressive People's Alliance (PPA) to contest for the Senatorial Election.[36]
2016: The Supreme court ruled that he should stand trial, this was nine years after his legal battle with the EFCC.[36]
2016: He joined the All Progressives Congress (APC) political party.[36]
2018: He was given the Title: Danbaiwan-Hausa (Gifted Son of Hausa kingdom) by the Emir of Daura in President Muhammadu Buhari's hometown.[36]
2019: He contested for the Abia State Senatorial Election and he won.[36]
2019: He was convicted and jailed 12 years for corruption in December 2019.[36]
2020:He was released from prison by the judgement of the Supreme Court who ruled on Friday, 8 May that he was wrongfully convicted. The Supreme Court ordered a re-trial.[36]
^Abaribe was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in May 2022.
^Abbo was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in November 2020.
^Akpan was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the YPP in July 2022.
^The PDP's Ekpenyong was elected Senator in 2019 but a Court of Appeal partially annulled the results and called a supplementary election in the affected areas. Ekpenyong won the ensuing rerun election and was sworn-in again in January 2020.
^Oduah was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in August 2021 before returning to the PDP in April 2022.
^Jika was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the NNPP in June 2022.
^Bulkachuwa was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in November 2022.
^Gumau was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the NNPP in May 2022.
^The PDP's Douye Diri was elected Senator in 2019 but resigned in February 2020 after winning election to become Bayelsa State Governor. Cleopas won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^The PDP's Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo was elected Senator in 2019 but resigned in February 2020 after winning election to become Bayelsa State Deputy Governor. Dickson won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^ abIn April 2022, Adamu and Kyari resigned from the Senate after taking APC party offices the month prior.
^The PDP's Rose Okoji Oko was elected Senator in 2019 but died in March 2020. Jarigbe and fellow PDP member Stephen Odey fought in court over the ensuing by-election's PDP nomination; Odey won both initial court decisions and the by-election before taking office late in December 2020. However, Jarigbe later won several court challenges which declared him the legitimate PDP nominee and thus Senator. Jarigbe took office in September 2021.
^Nwaoboshi was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in June 2021.
^Alimikhena was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in June 2022.
^The APC's Adedayo Clement Adeyeye was elected Senator in 2019 but the NASS Election Petition Tribunal awarded and Court of Appeal affirmed the win to Olujimi. She took office in November 2019.
^Onyewuchi was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the LP in June 2022.
^Due to disputes over alleged irregularities, the APC's Benjamin Uwajumogu was not sworn in until July 2019. Uwajumogu died in December 2019 leading to a bye-election. After disputes, Ibezim was awarded the bye-election victory and took office in April 2021.
^Due to disputes over the alleged forced declaration of his election, Okorocha was not sworn in until June 14, 2019.
^Shekarau was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the NNPP in May 2022 then to the PDP in August 2022.
^Babba Kaita was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in April 2022.
^Aliero was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in May 2022.
^Abdullahi was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the PDP in June 2022.
^The PDP's Dino Melaye was elected Senator in 2019 but Adeyemi petitioned against the results and the NASS Election Petition Tribunal annulled the results and called a new election. Adeyemi won the ensuing rerun election and took office in December 2019.
^The APC's Adebayo Osinowo was elected Senator in 2019 but died in June 2020. Abiru won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^Akwashiki was elected as a member of the APC but switched to the SDP in July 2022.
^The APC's David Umaru was elected Senator in 2019 but the Supreme Court awarded the APC primary win to Musa making him Senator. He took office in July 2019.
^Balogun was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in May 2022.
^The APC's Ignatius Datong Longjan was elected Senator in 2019 but died in February 2020. Daduut won the ensuing bye-election and took office in December 2020.
^The APC's Abubakar Shehu Tambuwal was elected Senator in 2019 but a Court of Appeal awarded the win to Abdullahi Danbaba. He took office in November 2019 as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in April 2022.
^Bwacha was elected as a member of the PDP but switched to the APC in February 2022.
^ abcPrior to inauguration, the APC's Zamfara votes were voided due to improper holding of party primaries. Thus the PDP runners-up took office. All three (Anka, Hassan Muhammed Gusau, Yaú) switched to the APC in June 2021. In February 2022, Muhammed Gusau resigned to become Zamfara Deputy Governor.
Candidates in the 2007 Nigerian presidential election