Politics
Why Orji Kalu, Arthur Eze Parted Ways
The dramatic emergence of a member of the House of Representatives, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife as the flag-bearer of the Progressives Peoples’ Alliance (PPA) in the February 2010 governorship election in Anambra State was the proverbial last straw that irredeemably broke down the relationship between a former Governor of Abia State, Chief Orji Uzor Kalu and chief PPA financier in the state, Prince Arthur Eze, The Tide source has uncovered.
Eze, an international oil tycoon had at a colourful ceremony in Awka at the weekend led hordes of PPA supporters, including his protégé and south east chairman of the party, Chief Austin Ndigwe, to dump PPA. They instantly embraced the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) which has lately been on a roller coaster in the state.
Investigations reveal that the relationship between Kalu and Arthur Eze had lately been frosty; with the later openly complaining that he had been edged out of running of the party in Anambra State. Eze had also reportedly frowned at the handling of the last party congress where his choice lost out to Hon. Tony Igboka who emerged chairman.
The billionaire businessman had somehow managed to comport himself but that the centre gave the moment it dawn on him that Ekwunife had by the sleight of the hand trounced his candidate and nephew, Okey. That was when Ezenukpo realised he had overstayed his welcome in PPA, volunteered a source.
Ezenukpo (Arthur Eze) was miffed by the fact that Ekwunife, a PDP member who joined the party a few hours to the PPA primary crushingly defeated his nephew Okey, whom Orji Kalu had sworn to hand the ticket. It was based on this pact that Ezenukpo pumped millions of naira into Anambra PPA at a time nobody would risk touching it with a pole, no matter how long.
“What was more, Ezenukpo was totally exasperated at the obvious helplessness of his legman Ndigwe who, though regional chairman was at the primary checkmated and rendered powerless by the party’s state chairman, Chief Tony Igboka, who became chairman, protests by Eze and Ndigwe notwithstanding,” a source close to the oil tycoon offered.
The source revealed that Arthur Eze felt particularly betrayed that, having invested so much time and money into the PPA project, Kalu clandestinely approached Emeka Etiaba and Ekwunife to contest the party’s governorship ticket with his nephew for whom he had already secured the ticket.
“We got information on how Senator Annie Okonkwo, for whom Ekwunife is keeping the ticket, brought money. Plenty of it. Once the money came, Kalu now began to look the other way as Igboka and other party officers on their side hijacked the delegates’ tags and gave them to PDP members to vote in PPA primary! That was how a PDP member became our flag-bearer overnight,” lamented one PPA officer.
Indications that all was not well with PPA emerged a couple of months ago during the state congress of the party where Igboka, a former member of Anambra State House of Assembly, was returned in very controversial circumstances. Brushing aside several spirited attempts by Eze through Ndigwe to make the party’s national leadership in Abuja reject Igboka, the party forwarded his name to the Independent National Electoral Commission as the authentic chairman.
The stakes heightened last month when Ndigwe confronted the party’s deputy national chairman for setting up a committee in Anambra State chapter of the party without his knowledge. Apart from being threatened with expulsion, Ndigwe, according to party sources, from that time was never brought into the picture of goings on in Anambra PPA. This, the sources insist, largely contributed to the humiliating defeat suffered by Eze’s nephew in the hands of a rookie PPA member, Mrs. Uche Ekwunife.
However, another source close to the former Abia State governor dismissed as “hogwash” suggestions that Kalu shortchanged Arthur in the running of Anambra PPA.
“What nonsense!” fumed the source. “Ezenukpo for sure thinks this is the Abacha era where he played God. He is a very notorious godfather. Imagine that his lack of stomach for democracy made him install Uzuawka (Ndigwe) chairman of Awka south LGA even when all knew that they won not more than four wards in the council.. He bribed his way to the tribunal and got judgment in his protégé’s favour.
“This is 2009, for crying out loud! How would a party grow by remaining the personal property of a political relic? For God’s sake, we are talking about PPA that produced two governors and several members of the National Assembly. You want to keep the party in your bedroom? We said, No! Open it up. Let Okeke and Okafor join so we can become a household name in the South east, and then Nigeria. We are tired of exhuming mummified political fathers. If he’s chosen to return to his vomit in PDP, good luck. We in PPA can’t be bothered,” he declared.
From the ashes of defeat, however, Arthur Eze, who is not new to the turbulence in politics, has reportedly moved on. Aside from donating a whopping N10 million to PDP, the billionaire tycoon whose company owns Block OML 109, located just 12 miles off the shores of Nigeria, has reportedly vowed to stop PPA from winning Anambra “even if that would cost him N2 billion.”
Those who should know insist that Eze is not a man that shies away from spending sprees particularly when his ego has been bruised. “OML 109, encompassing some 773 square kilometers, is estimated to hold over 2.2 billion barrels of crude oil, so you know what that means” a source quipped.
Eze was clearly the most influential figure from the South east from the regime of General Ibrahim Babangida through that of the late General Sani Abacha. When Eze wasn’t ordering pilots of his now defunct Triax Airlines around, he was “sacking” military administrators who failed to do his bidding.
He has consistently supplied oxygen to Ndigwe’s political life beginning from the early 1990s when he bulldozed the former PPA officer into becoming the chairman of Awka South council in Anambra State. He was also reportedly instrumental in installing Ndigwe’s sister, Eucharia Anazodo chairman of Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC) during the Babangida regime.
Governor Douye Diri has set a target of at least one million votes for President Bola Tinubu in Bayelsa State in the 2027 presidential election, while charging the newly inaugurated All Progressives Congress (APC) State Campaign Council to prioritise reconciliation, party unity and collective electoral mobilisation.
Governor Diri gave the charge at the inauguration of the 20-member campaign council at the APC secretariat in Yenagoa, where he warned that internal divisions could undermine the party’s efforts to secure victory for President Tinubu and other candidates at the federal and state levels.
Governor Diri urged party members who were not appointed to the council to support its activities by taking the APC’s message to communities, wards and polling units across the state.
He specifically charged the campaign team to mobilise at least one million votes for President Tinubu, arguing that Bayelsa’s voting strength had increased and should be reflected in the 2027 election results.
“I give you a target that in Bayelsa, we must not bring less than one million votes for Mr President. You are going to campaign, and you have a lot to talk about the President. He has done so much for our people,” the governor said.
He listed the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, the second phase of the Nembe-Brass Road, interventions in the power sector, federal appointments for Bayelsa indigenes and the establishment of the Ministry of Marine and Blue Economy among the achievements the campaign should present to voters.
The governor particularly praised President Tinubu for the coastal highway project, arguing that it reflected federal attention to the development needs of coastal communities.
“No president, alive or dead, has remembered the coastal people and coastal states to say let us do this signature project from Lagos to Calabar. The first president to think about it is Bola Tinubu, and those were the demands of the Ijaw people,” he said.
Governor Diri also expressed hope that a second term for President Tinubu would provide an opportunity to advance demands for fiscal federalism, greater resource control and state policing, which he described as longstanding aspirations of the Niger Delta.
He said the President had shown indications of addressing some of the demands of younger Nigerians and argued that re-election would allow the administration to consolidate its reforms.
The governor further cautioned campaigners against personal attacks and abusive exchanges with political opponents, insisting that the APC should focus its campaign on issues, policies and achievements.
The governor’s mobilisation directive comes amid criticism from the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which has questioned his commitment to President Tinubu’s re-election campaign, alleging that APC campaign billboards erected across Yenagoa promote other party candidates without featuring the President.
The PDP, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr Ikaebimo Mark, said the billboards showed Governor Diri urging voters to support APC candidates for the National Assembly and State House of Assembly elections without identifying President Tinubu as the party’s presidential candidate.
Mr Mark described the omission as an indication that the governor was not fully aligned with the APC’s national leadership.
“When we said that the governor, Senator Douye Diri, is not supporting President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, we knew exactly what we were saying. Now Governor Douye Diri has erected APC campaign billboards across Bayelsa State without Tinubu’s picture. He is even afraid to associate himself with the photograph of the presidential candidate of his own party. How can this governor claim to be supporting President Tinubu?” he said.
The PDP, however, maintained that the governor’s public campaign posture raised questions about his commitment to the President’s re-election bid. Its allegation over the billboards now places the issue of the relationship between the state APC leadership and the party’s national campaign among the political questions likely to feature in Bayelsa’s preparations for 2027.
The PDP’s allegation has introduced a fresh political dimension to the APC’s preparations in Bayelsa, even as Governor Diri publicly called on party leaders and members to close ranks and mobilise support for all its candidates.
“Every person picked as a member of this campaign council was carefully scrutinised. I want to tell you that our campaign team is loaded. We parade the best candidates among all the parties in Bayelsa State, and there is no doubt about that,” he said.
He urged members to remain focused and united, warning that political opponents could exploit any divisions within the party.
“Our unity is very important because they would want to feast on our disunity. We will not give them that opportunity. Please, as you carry out this assignment, do not take your eyes off the target,” Hon. Ogoriba said.
SP Edafe explained that during the meeting, the organisers were briefed on the identified security threats and advised against embarking on an open-road procession.
Instead, the police reportedly recommended that the political activities be conducted at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
However, the Command alleged that the organisers disregarded the security advice and proceeded with the road procession.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has condemned the political violence that erupted in Asaba, the state capital, on Saturday, confirming that one person was killed while four others sustained serious injuries.
The government described the incident as unfortunate and unacceptable, warning political parties and their supporters against actions capable of threatening public peace, security and democratic participation in the state.
In a statement issued by the Commissioner for Works (Rural Roads) and Public Information, Mr Charles Aniagwu, the government reiterated its zero tolerance for political violence, intimidation and other forms of political misconduct.
Mr Aniagwu said the government had repeatedly cautioned political parties against engaging in activities capable of disrupting the peace, insisting that the incident could have been avoided if the organisers had followed security advice.
According to him, the police had advised the organisers to cancel the proposed street march and instead conduct their political campaign at a designated venue where adequate security arrangements could be provided.
He expressed concern that the advice was allegedly disregarded, resulting in a confrontation that claimed one life and left four other people seriously injured.
The government subsequently called on the police to conduct a thorough investigation into the circumstances surrounding the violence and ensure that anyone found culpable is brought to justice.
Mr Aniagwu further warned that the state government would not tolerate politically motivated attacks against any individual, regardless of political affiliation.
He maintained that Delta State remained safe for residents and visitors, stressing that the government would not allow the actions of individuals or groups to undermine the prevailing peace and security in the state.
The government also urged political parties, their leaders and supporters to conduct their political activities within the confines of the law and demonstrate respect for human life, public order and the rights of other citizens.
The latest development follows an attack on supporters of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) during a political procession in Asaba, which reportedly left several participants injured and campaign vehicles vandalised.
The government’s condemnation comes amid growing concerns over political violence and the safety of opposition supporters as political activities intensify ahead of the 2027 general elections.
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