Audit to be carried out on the finances and expenditure, says Kalu

By Rubby Obinna

In what may seem aplomb that Abia State has the likes of the former Governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu; he has stood unruly to unveil the activities of the present government in the State, as they unfold.


Kalu, who would say that he has returned to the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), since January 16, 2012, was against the noise from the camp of those opposing to his return in this regard.


In an interview with Kalu, he unraveled the purportedly monstrous use of lies by the Governor Theodore Orji government of Abia State, in superintending governance in that state, while clearing himself of any corrupt means when he served as governor of Abia State, between 1997-2007.


That was as a result of some allegations the present government had through its machineries that it had vehemently administered good governance in the state more than the ex-governor.


However, in a warning tone to those in this line of thought against Kalu, he had said he was ready that his eight year administration in the state be probed.


His words: “I have stated this very clearly in a television interview that I am ready to pay the bill for a financial audit of my administration and the current one, so that the public would understand what the issues are.


“I am ready to pay 50 per cent of the cost of such audit, while the state government will pay the remaining 50 per cent for a thorough audit to be carried out on the finances and expenditure of the state.


“We can invite reputable audit firms including Ernst & Young, KPMG, Dellloite &Touché Price Water Copper House, to carry out the audit so that the truth would be straightened.”


He was afraid that the ruling PDP might not win election in the state in 2015, bothering on what he said were the ill habits of those who had thought that the party was solely their personal property, even as he had challenged the Director General of State Security Services (SSS) to send his aptitude officials to report back to the president what has been happening in Abia State.


According to Kalu: “The entire project the governor has embarked on is not up to N6 billion whereas he has collected over N1 trillion from the Federal and Allocation Accounts Committee in the last seven years. We have the data of how much the state gets from federal allocation.


“We will provide this data at the appropriate time. He cannot go free by toying with the lives and process of democracy. When I was governor between 1999 and 2007, we got about N108 billion for the eight years. But the current governor in seven years has collected over N1 trillion from the federation account.


“I am not the issue in Abia State. The governor thinks so. Why must you be after one man, instead of developing the state? He said I told him not to develop the state. Instead, he has proven himself wrong.”


Kalu was worried that any alleged mishap of the governor, he would hip it on Kalu. “He said I asked him not to eat food, he has proven himself wrong. If a pregnant woman is sick today in Abia, the governor says it is me.


“If anybody has headache, he says it is me. During the kidnapping saga in Abia State, he nearly wanted to implicate me. The governor asked one of the service chiefs to go and put guns in my house, so that they would arrest me; that I was the one responsible for kidnapping people.


“The man told him he cannot do a thing like this. And this is a statement of fact. So, can you see the man? Has he got conscience? When I was handing over as governor, I told him to rule the people of Abia with his conscience. So, I think the mediocrity should stop, proper governance should take place. This is not how to govern a state. The governor had excuse for everything.”


But in all of these, Kalu still remained of the view that Abia State remains one of the vertebral-column states of the PDP. To this end, he has seen President Goodluck Jonathan as a very lucky man who has shown very strong believe in the governor and him.


According to Kalu, “The president is standing on two sides of the Atlantic. People will listen to us. Whatever the governor of Abia State cannot bring on the table for the president I would bring. That is why democracy is very good. It is going to be a win-win situation for the president. That is why the PDP umbrella is very strong; it can cover many people under it.”


Rubby Obinna writes from Ohaji, Imo State.

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