Former Governor of Abia State, Sen. Orji Uzor Kalu, has called on President Bola Tinubu to quicken steps in bringing succour to Nigerians amidst the current biting economic hardship.
Kalu, who sits on the Abia-North Senatorial District seat at the Senate, spoke at the National Assembly in Abuja on Tuesday, noting that much as the President was making honest reforms to address the challenges Nigeria currently faced, the hardship in the land was also real.
He noted that the President was “courageous” to have introduced reforms, the types never seen in the last 60 years.
Speaking to journalists, Kalu, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), said, “We feel that the reforms going on now have not happened in the last 60 years, no president had the courage to do what President Tinubu is doing now. It is about courage. The man is very courageous.
“Possibly if I’m president, what he is doing now to reform the economy, I won’t do it, I might come slowly.
“Even in my village, everywhere I go, companies, everybody, there is hardship, but I appeal to the federal government, the President, to know how he can bring succour quickly to the people of Nigeria. He has to do something not yesterday, but today.
“He must do something like yesterday because the condition of the Nigerian people is not too good. I believe that no president in the world elected by people would want his people to suffer.”
Specifically on the controversial removal of fuel subsidy, the former said it was an issue could meet with members of his economic team and study it.
“I’m not in the economic team, I have not seen the president or anyone to ask but this is what (return of subsidy) the president has to sit with his economic team to discuss.
“But, the decisions he has taken are what no president in the 60 years of the republic, no president has been able to take, ” he added.
Kalu, who claimed that he had cut down on personal expenses as a result of the hardship, said he also resolved not to fly private jets for now.
He explained, “The hardship is true, people are suffering. We have hundreds of thousands of workers, we have about 10,000 workers in our group that we run.
“We need to pay those salaries. If I fly at any time, buying fuel and maintaining the private plane takes almost $10,000, $20,000.
“I called our senior members in the group and said when I have to make my own sacrifices it is not for the federal government, it is for the good of the company.
“So I said fly no more, fly commercial and save the money for restructuring our workers both in Nigeria and West Africa so that everybody must feed in this time of hardship. “
On the outcome of the just-concluded Edo State governorship election, which was won by the APC’s candidate, Sen. Monday Okpebholo, the lawmaker argued that the best contestant and party won.
He said, “The national chairman, the national secretary, and the members of the NWC, and including the senators, have worked so hard for Edo and I believe that whoever works hard for an election deserves to win.
“The election is about numbers, when you have the numbers on the ground, you win. When you don’t have the numbers, you don’t win. INEC has declared the winner and they (Okpebholo and APC) deserve the win.”
Kalu dismissed rumours that circulated recently that he died, saying that he merely took a private time to study some courses.
“Listen, there was nothing wrong with me. I took permission from the senate president about seven days before the senate closed. I went for a little study in one of the universities that I paid for myself, not that anyone paid for me. I went to do some courses for two months; so I used the holiday period to do courses on democracy and the economy.
“I did not die. I didn’t go for any medical check up, but if people say I have died, we give thanks to God”, he told reporters.