A former governor of Abia State
and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Orji Uzor Kalu,
says former President Olusegun Obasanjo punished him for refusing to support
his ‘third term’ agenda.
Kalu said Obasanjo, in
retaliation of his opposition, ordered withdrawal of licence of his companies –
Hallmark Bank and Slok Airline.
In a chat with Daily Independent,
Kalu was asked what he was doing to bring back his businesses to Nigeria to
help boost the economy and also lift the administration of President Muhammadu
Buhari.
He replied: “The 9,000 workers I
mentioned are all here in Nigeria and we could have been a larger group if
Hallmark Bank was not closed and its license withdrawn.
“A bank with 5,000 workers and 33
branches and someone cancelled the license in one day for political reasons and
that takes us to where we are now in Africa. Somebody cancelled the license of
an airline with 14 aircraft in a day and nobody asked questions.
“How do you convince people to
come and invest in your country when a president (Obasanjo) can wake up and
order the Central Bank and the Ministry of Aviation to cancel licenses without
due process? I am in court with the Federal Government. So, I won’t dwell more
on the issue.
“The whole process was totally
flawed. There was no offence committed, just because we disagreed on third term
and that was the price I paid. It was uncalled for to take such action without
considering the many families that would be affected.
“So, these are the major factors
that discourage investors from having long term businesses in the country. When
politicians quarrel in America, they quarrel as politicians, they don’t go
about attacking each other’s businesses.
“They talk about politics face to
face; they agree and disagree; they quarrel based on politics and they agree
and disagree on issues. These are what our political leaders engaged in which
is not fair at all. They should not channel their grievances to businesses
which people make their living from.”
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ULTIMATE REVELATION FOR THOSE WHO DIDN'T KNOW THE GENESIS OF ORJI KALU'S DATES WITH EFCC.
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