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.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, December 31, 2025, and signed by its National Publicity Secretary, Mr Obiora Ifoh, the party said it had taken note of Mr Obi’s defection alongside some of his supporters, as well as what it called a “lacklustre speech” delivered by the former Anambra State governor at the defection event.
“We wondered what new he intends to sell to Nigerians,” the party said, adding that it was not surprised by the move, having “since September 2024, parted ways with Peter Obi and some of his blind supporters in the National Assembly.”
According to the statement, the faction said it had patiently awaited Mr Obi’s exit, describing it as a blessing.
“The party is finally liberated by this defection and as party leaders, we count it as a blessing,” the party said.
The faction further disclosed that it had previously urged Mr Obi and his supporters to leave if they were unable to work with the party leadership.
It claimed that several lawmakers had been suspended for anti-party activities and that similar action would have been taken against Mr Obi but for the intervention of “some well-meaning Nigerians.”
It also blamed its internal crisis on Mr Obi and Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, accusing them of sponsoring what it described as an insurrection against the Julius Abure-led leadership.
“The crisis we had in the Labour Party was caused by Peter Obi and the Abia State governor, Alex Otti,” the statement alleged, adding that it was surprising Dr Otti had not followed Mr Obi out of the party despite his suspension.
Reacting to Mr Obi’s defection event in Enugu, the faction claimed the gathering was largely boycotted by prominent political and traditional institutions in the South East, insisting that those present were “political spent forces who cannot win in their wards should there be an election today.”
It warned that this development signalled the failure of any future Mr Obi presidential or vice-presidential ambition, claiming he had “clearly lost the charm that had endeared him to the people prior to 2023.”
The faction also accused Mr Obi of misleading the South East during the 2023 elections, alleging that the region suffers political marginalisation under President Bola Tinubu’s administration as a result.
“He must be told that the South East lost out completely in President Ahmed Tinubu’s government because they trusted and believed in him in 2023,” the statement said, alleging disparities in ministerial appointments and infrastructure allocation to the zone.
The Abure-Led LP apologised to Nigerians for its decision in the last election.
“We gave Nigerians a candidate we thought was good for the nation in 2023, but time has since proved that we made the greatest political mistake. We plead for forgiveness from Nigerians,” the party said.
It urged Nigerians to watch out for a rebranded Labour Party, promising to present “the best prospect” capable of returning Nigeria to what it described as its “glorious days.”
steadily toward unity, justice, and shared prosperity”, he said.
Speaking to journalists on Wednesday at his country home in Ikere-Ekiti, Dr Oluyede said the development came as a shock, stressing that INEC supervised and monitored the PDP governorship primary that produced him as the party’s candidate.
According to him, INEC officials documented the process, completed all required forms, and even affirmed his candidacy in court through sworn affidavits arising from cases linked to the primary election.
He maintained that no court order or injunction currently restrains INEC from listing his name as the PDP candidate, arguing that the electoral body lacks the constitutional power to determine who emerges as a party’s nominee.
Dr Oluyede described such decisions as the exclusive responsibility of political parties, not the electoral umpire.
While playing down panic over the released list, Dr Oluyede noted that electoral processes often involve reviews and corrections.
He disclosed that he had commenced wide consultations, including engagements with PDP leadership and formal correspondence with INEC, to seek clarification on the omission and determine the next line of action.
The PDP candidate assured his supporters across Ekiti State that he would appear on the ballot, expressing confidence that the situation would be resolved in his favour.
He described attempts to exclude candidates from elections as dangerous and undemocratic, warning that such tactics undermine the people’s right to freely choose their leaders.
Dr Oluyede called on the people of Ekiti to reject any form of disenfranchisement, insisting that elections should be contests of ideas, records, and acceptance by the electorate rather than exclusionary maneuvers.
He also declared that the PDP in Ekiti had resolved its past internal crises and was now united, focused, and ready to win the forthcoming governorship election.
He urged party members and supporters to remain calm and focused, expressing optimism that, with divine grace and the will of the people, the PDP would emerge victorious at the polls.
Mr Obi spoke while formally declaring for the African Democratic Congress (ADC) at a well-attended event in Enugu on Wednesday, where he outlined what he described as a fresh roadmap for rescuing the country from its socio-economic challenges.
Addressing party members, supporters and other stakeholders, the former governor stressed that leadership must be driven by integrity and accountability, warning against the culture of double standards in public office.
“We cannot continue to deceive our people. Leadership is about telling the truth and leading by example. You cannot promise one thing in public and do another in private. That is not leadership, and that is not the change Nigeria needs”, Mr Obi said.
He maintained that genuine national rebirth would only be possible if entrenched wrongs were corrected, adding that governance must be guided by competence, discipline and a clear sense of purpose.
Mr Obi also underscored the need for fresh thinking in the nation’s political space, urging political actors to move away from recycled ideas that have failed to deliver sustainable development.
“We must come with new ideas,” he said, adding that “Nigeria’s problems are not mysterious; what has been lacking is the courage and competence to address them differently. We need a new approach that puts people first and focuses on production, not consumption.”
Calling for a broad based political collaboration, Mr Obi appealed to parties and stakeholders across ideological divides to work together in the national interest.
“This country is bigger than any party or individual. All parties must come together to change the present trend. What matters is not the platform, but the future of Nigeria and the wellbeing of its citizens”, he declared.
Looking ahead to the 2027 general elections, Mr Obi challenged aspirants seeking elective offices to ensure transparency in their credentials, warning that the era of falsified certificates was drawing to a close.
“Anyone contesting for any position in 2027 must come with genuine certificates. All the machinery is now in place to verify what is genuine and what is not. Integrity must start from the very foundation of leadership”, he stated.
Drawing lessons from international development models, Mr Obi cited Rwanda and Indonesia as examples of countries that rose from difficult beginnings to become thriving economies through disciplined leadership and sound policies.
“These countries were once behind us,” he noted, adding that “Today, they are moving ahead because they chose competent leadership, clear vision and policies that support local production and human capital development.”
He also criticised the economic policies of the present administration, particularly the continued importation of food items that can be produced locally, describing such practices as inimical to national development.
“You cannot grow an economy by killing local production. Importing food that we can produce in Nigeria destroys jobs, weakens our farmers and drains our foreign exchange. A serious country must produce what it consumes”, he argued.
The event featured renewed calls from ADC supporters for sustained engagement and mobilisation, as Mr Obi reiterated his belief that Nigeria remains redeemable if led with honesty, competence and a commitment to shared national progress.
In his remarks, the National Chairman of the ADC, Senator David Mark, expressed confidence in the emerging coalition, assuring Nigerians that the party would deliver good governance at all levels of administration if entrusted with power.
The gathering also witnessed the defection of several prominent politicians from different political parties across the South-East and beyond.
The motion endorsing the defection was moved by a former Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives, Chief Emeka Ihedioha, and seconded by former economic adviser to ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo, Prof. Osita Ogbu.
Goodwill messages from notable political figures, including Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Mrs. Aisha Yesufu, Chief Sam Egwu, Dr. Okwesilieze Nwodo, Chief Achike Udenwa, Mr Onyema Ugochukwu and Senator Gilbert Nnaji among others, further underscored the growing momentum within the ADC.
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