Although he has occupied prominent roles in public office, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu insists he does not see himself as a career politician. He maintains that his political journey has never served as a means of personal enrichment.
Speaking as the representative of Abia North in the National Assembly, Kalu described himself primarily as a businessman—someone who has consistently built enterprises aimed at providing employment opportunities for Nigerians.
Reflecting on his time as Governor of Abia State between 1999 and 2007, Kalu noted that he had already achieved financial success prior to venturing into politics.
He claimed to have donated $1 million to support the formation of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 1998 and said he relied on his personal finances to run the affairs of Abia State during his administration.
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“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.”
The Senator maintained that his involvement in politics had come at a steep personal cost, insisting he had suffered rather than gained from public service. Reflecting on his tenure as a state governor, he lamented the loss of substantial business interests, attributing the setbacks to federal interference. Politics, he concluded, had not enriched him—it had endangered his livelihood.