I have what it takes to be president – ORJI KALU reveals his ambitions

Friday, October 18, 2024 - Former Abia State governor, Sen Orji Uzor Kalu has stated that he is a qualified candidate for the presidency.

The lawmaker representing Abia North in the Senate on Thursday stated that if President Bola Tinubu does not run in 2027, he would contest.

Kalu made the comments during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.

He said, “Let me tell you, first and foremost, I’m qualified to be a President, and I’m competent. We have already a candidate in our political party unless he is not running. If the party gives me the opportunity to fly their flag, it’s a privilege, it’s not something that will I like? It’s an opportunity given by the party. It’s not about me. My interest in 2027 is to come back, be a lawmaker, sit in the Senate and work in the Senate.”

Speaking of the hardship in Nigeria, Kalu said Nigeria was in a situation because the country had no economic processes and no organized economy, stating that he believed the government should cut down on expenses.

He added that President Tinubu was making efforts to restore the institutions, noting that he (President Tinubu) could be right or wrong in his decisions.

“The record is that there is a worldwide deflation all over the world. It is bad in Nigeria because we have no economic processes. We never had an economy since 60 years ago. There is no organized economy here. We have no light, we have nothing, and our stock exchange is just building up. The institutions that drive the economy are very weak, and this is what President Bola Tinubu is trying to rebuild to make sure the institutions are strong.

“Because if you continue with these handouts and a weak economy, you are not going to go on, somebody must make tough decisions. He might be right or wrong. He’s making tough decisions for the future. The question is the Nigerian people, are they hungry? The answer is yes. But our looks worse because we didn’t make decisions at all.

“People in government ought to maintain austerity measures, I believe they should. There should be more sewing our coat according to our size, scaling down on most things people in government do, scaling down on more gifts the government gives to other countries, scaling down on so many things”, the Senator said.