Former governor of Abia State, Orji Uzor Kalu, on Monday expressed his desire to quit the race for the ticket of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Abia North Senatorial District.

The former governor in a letter to the PDP National Chairman, Adamu Muazu, dated November 24, 2014 said he was withdrawing from the race because the Abia State Governor, Theodore Orji, was forcing him out of the race.

The governor, he said, frustrated his desire to seek the PDP senatorial ticket because he knows that the governor has concluded plans to foist his handpicked aspirants on members of the party in the state.

He noted that since the race had been skewed against him, and the fact that he was not allowed to participate in the processes that would lead to the emergence of the party candidate, the party should refund the N5.5 million he paid to obtain the expression of interest and nomination form for the contest for the party ticket.

Kalu in the letter to the PDP National Chairman lamented that the Abia governor deliberately invited some party big wigs into the 2015 race at all levels and rubbished them, knowing fully that he won’t allow them get any chance of contesting for the party ticket, let alone win.

He said the action of the governor was a pre-planned arrangement to humiliate some high profile members of the party as he allowed majority of them to resign from plum positions to contest for the PDP ticket when he should have advised them to keep their positions since he already has aspirants he has handpicked to fly the PDP ticket.

His words: “Along the line, however, it became apparent that the Abia State Governor, Chief T.A Orji, wants to hand pick all candidates, both into executive and legislative position. He wants to choose his own successor, fill the 24 House of Assembly seats, the eight federal constituencies and the three senatorial seats.

“Governor Orji knew ahead of time that he had a candidate in mind but deliberately allowed eminent Abia citizens like Dr. Alex Otti, GMD of Diamond Bank, to resign from his lofty position when he should have advised him to remain there.

“He also allowed Chief Emeka Wogu, Minister of Labour, to resign and lose Abia slot in the Federal Executive Council and other ministerial committees; he equally allowed two ranking members of the Senate in the person of Senator Nkechi Nwogu, Chairman, Senate committee on Oil and Gas and Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, Chairman, Senate Committee on Media and Information, to pick gubernatorial forms when he should have advised them to go for re-election in the Senate.

“I find all these very disturbing. When Governor Orji was to be elected the first time in 2007, everyone knew where I stood three years before then that he was my anointed candidate,” he lamented.”

While maintaining that there was no ward congress in Abia State, Kalu said the Governor and his “collaborators” just compiled the list of delegates and this has forced some members of PDP to defect to other parties.

He warned that it is dangerous for PDP to hang all its hope on one man as elections are won by collective efforts and not as solo run.

Orji Kalu also declared that contrary to earlier arrangements he was not screened neither did he go through any of the stipulated processes that leads to the emergence of candidate and requested that since the party did not screen him it should refund the nomination fee he paid.

He said: “I know that members of the National Working Committee have intervened severally and assured me that I would be screened between Thursday and Friday last week for the senatorial race. However, it did not happen, causing me to conclude that the party has perhaps acquiesced to the desire of Governor Orji to handpick all the candidates.

“If this is the true picture of things, I wish to defer to the judgement and decision of the party. Rather than be an intractable issue in the Abia chapter of our great party, I would rather subordinate personal ambition for party cohesion, and quit the forthcoming electoral race. I hereby formally withdraw from the bid to represent the good people of Abia North in the Senate next year.

“Since I was not screened, and neither did I go through any of the stipulated processes that lead to the emergence of candidate, I hereby also ask the party as a measure of honour and good faith, to refund the nomination fee I paid. I will use the money to further empower my constituents in many other ways.”

•Text courtesy of Daily Independent.