National Chairman of Zenith Labour Party and former member of Board of Trustees of People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Dan Iwuanyanwu, has said the former governor of Abia state and Chief Whip of the Senate, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu financed the activities of the party at its formation stage which allowed democracy to thrive without interference.
He took a swipe at PDP Governors for abandoning democratic ethos in the party simply because they are the financiers of the party.
In an interview, Iwuanyanwu while responding to questions on party financing said, Kalu picked all the bills for the PDP in 1998 and at a time when there was no money.
According to him, because there is this argument that the structure of party financing right now makes the governors the real owners of the party.
“The National Chairman of the party goes to visit a state, and before he goes of course, he receives thanks for coming and he’s taken care of. Anybody that wants to become governor has to take care of the party chairman and afterward”.
“So the real power is in the hands of the governor. The party members need to have a structure where members of the party nationally contribute to a central fund. But it doesn’t really exist because there is one or two or three governors who controls state resources who can give massive fund to the party so they determine and detect to the National chairman what to do”.
“In 1998 before the formation of PDP, I attended all the meetings at the Museum center with Jonathan Zwingina and others. We attend all the meetings and Ekwueme was presiding”.
“At every meeting, there will be no money to pay for the halls and entertainment. I must be frank with this. Orji Kalu picked all the bills, he is not my friend as per relating but I remembered on several occasions they will announce that Orji Kalu has picked the bills because people don’t have money then. People didn’t have money.
Orji Kalu picked all the bills. This was a contribution by members, I mean individuals. Today When you let governors, of course they made their contributions, and abandon all Democratic processes. They try to play God and that is the major problem”, He said.
