Why I Decamped To APC" - Orji Uzor Kalu

ORJI Kalu, former governor of Abia State on Wednesday stated why he decamped from Progressive Peoples Alliance - a party he formed in 2006 - to the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC.

Kalu who addressed a press conference said his decision to join the ruling party was to de-bunk speculation that the APC is an  ethnic or religious contraption.


“If they see us in this place, they will know that that APC is not an ethnic or religious party,” Mr. Kalu said.

The former governor admitted that the APC will be a tough sell in the South East, but expressed optimism that it will eventually be accepted after intense lobbying of those that matter in the region.

“It is something that we need to be explaining to the Catholic bishops, Anglican bishops, the Pentecostal churches and the rest of them,” Mr. Kalu explained.


Mr. Kalu also said he registered as a member of the APC on Sunday, while also disclosing that two (2) House of Representative members from the state are joining him to his new party.


“Between Sunday when I registered at Igbere and now, there are 4,000 new members already registered with the APC in Abia without making it open,” Mr. Kalu said adding that “there are two members of the House of Representatives who are there right now that are joining the APC.”


Mr. Kalu was received by the party’s National Chairman, John Odigie-Oyegun, in the presence of other members of the National Working Committee at its Wuse 2, Abuja headquarters.


Mr. Kalu’s move to the APC came two weeks after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission re-arraigned him for corruption he allegedly perpetrated while he was governor of Abia between 1999-2003 on 34 counts of money laundering to the tune of N3.2 billion on October 31.