Posted by Chinenye on Tue 10th Nov, 2026 - tori.ng
Senator Orji Uzor Kalu has revealed how he used his personal money to support the PDP and help former President Olusegun Obasanjo after his release from prison.
(Abia North Senator Orji Kalu. Photo by OnejoblessBoy/X)
Senator Orji Kalu stated that he personally funded most of the PDP early operations, including hosting their meetings, renting airplanes and paying for members travel expenses.
Speaking in a television interview on Monday night.
Kalu said he was not the only big donor.
He named Atiku Abubakar, the late Yomi Edu and General Theophilus Danjuma, and said Vice President Kashim Shettima was among those with money as well.
But he said he was the one who paid for the party's meetings, aircraft and allowances for supporters.
He said his aim was to build a strong party that could end military rule and bring back democracy.
He said he later felt betrayed because party members turned against him after he had put in so much money.
He rejected the idea that becoming Abia governor on the PDP ticket was his reward, saying his support for the party was worth far more than the office.
Kalu also said he hosted former President Olusegun Obasanjo at his Victoria Island home after Obasanjo left prison.
He said he paid for Obasanjo's movements, including hiring and bringing aircraft to carry him.
He said that support cost him dearly, and that his businesses suffered as a result.
Kalu governed Abia from 1999 to 2007.
Earlier, he had claimed he gave the PDP its first N500 million and put more than N100 million into Obasanjo's 1998 presidential campaign.
In a 2017 report, he also said the party later took over his bank, airline and oil licence.
Asked about his long friendship with former military leader Ibrahim Babangida, whom he called his mentor, Kalu denied receiving financial benefits from it.
He said he had "a lot of friendly benefits" from the relationship.