Ex-Abia governor, Kalu, calls for 2019 peaceful general elections

AHEAD of 2019 general elections, the former Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu has called on Nigerians especial political elite to eschew bitterness and rancour in the country.

Chief Kalu, a Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC) also lauded Governor Ifeanyi Ugwuanyi of Enugu State for the respect he had continued to accord President Muhammadu Buhari and other leaders in the country irrespective of political affiliations.

Addressing newsmen after paying a visit to Governor Ugwuanyi at the Government House, Enugu at the weekend,  Chief Kalu expressed delight at the friendship the governor has maintained with political leaders across the board, stressing that such uncommon leadership style has brought peace and development to Enugu State.

The APC chieftain said that Gov. Ugwuanyi is “a very close friend of mine and we are family” irrespective of the fact that they are in different political parties, saying: “I am in very good terms with the governor of Enugu State, even before he became a governor”.

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Dr Kalu disclosed that President Buhari also takes Gov. Ugwuanyi as a family, declaring that “we cannot quarrel with anybody who is not quarrelling with us”.

According to him, “I look at him (Ugwuanyi) as a family member. So I don’t expect him to be in the same political party with me. He is of PDP and I am of APC but we maintain the friendship. It is across the board”.

The ex-governor explained that he was at the Enugu Government House to see the governor on a routine visit, stating that “on many occasions, I pass through here and I also tell the President and Commander-in-Chief that I am going to him”.

“There is no way I can come to Enugu without passing through here, moreover, he (Ugwuanyi) is a very close friend of mine, he said.

His words: “This is like a home to all Igbos. This is the headquarters of Igbo land. And I am in very good terms with the governor, not just because he is a governor. You know MV Neya and MV Sophia Maria; when he was Chairman, House of Representatives Committee on Marine Transport, he commissioned them in Malaysia.

“So people should stop playing little politics of tribe. We also go to the same church. He is a Catholic and I am a Catholic. I wish him well; I hope he is also wishing President Buhari well”