*Says Businesses Stopped, People Cannot Go Home in Ihiala, Orlu, Southeast
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Senator Orji Uzor Kalu, the Abia North representative in Nigeria’s National Assembly and a vocal supporter of President Bola Tinubu, has dismissed recent accusations from the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) as “childish” and challenged its spokesperson, Emma Powerful, to appear on live television for a direct confrontation.
In a fiery interview on ThisDay Live on Sunday, hosted by Reuben Abati, Kalu responded to IPOB’s demand for an apology over his claim that the group and its Eastern Security Network (ESN) have been responsible for the deaths of over 30,000 Igbos in the Southeast since their separatist campaigns began. IPOB, through Powerful, accused Kalu of sponsoring violence in the region, including groups like “Autopilot” and “Biafra Restoration Group,” and alleged he encouraged criminality along the Aba-Port Harcourt highway during his tenure as Abia governor.
Kalu, undeterred, labeled the response “frivolous” and questioned Emma Powerful’s very, which suggesting the name might be a fabricated alias developed by IPOB as a tactic to avoid accountability. “If any Emma Powerful is talking to you and issuing a statement, they should come on television the way I have come, to address you that is an Emma Powerful with a clear identity of who he is,” Kalu said, emphasizing that Igbos “should not be taken for granted.”
He reiterated his stance on the human cost of IPOB’s activities, particularly the enforced “sit-at-home” orders that have paralyzed businesses and led to widespread killings. “There are over thirty thousand Igbos that have lost their life in [the] process of sit-at-home… businesses were stopped [in] people in Ihiala and along those areas… And people in Orlu and part of all the Southeast cannot go to their homes,” Kalu stated. He sympathized with Nnamdi Kanu’s family following the IPOB leader’s life sentence by the Federal High Court in Abuja but urged a focus on the “families that lost their lives” who remain silent out of grief.
The senator advocated for a political resolution to the Biafra agitation, echoing sentiments from the late Biafran leader Odumegwu Ojukwu, with whom Kalu claimed close ties. “Ojukwu told me that the first [war] was necessary, but the second one is no longer necessary,” Kalu recounted, noting that Bianca Ojukwu could vouch for their relationship. He questioned the logic of IPOB’s approach: “Even if these boys want Biafra, who are you going to rule when you kill all the Igbos? When you stop all Igbos from doing business?” Instead, he called for dropping arms, waving flags, and pursuing a referendum through negotiation to ensure “justice and equity” within Nigeria.
Kalu defended his record as Abia governor from 1999 to 2007, crediting the Bakassi Boys vigilante group – which he established with federal security collaboration – for making the state the safest in the country at the time. “There was nothing like armed robbery… the place was properly policed,” he said, adding he would recreate the outfit if needed. He categorically denied knowledge of “Autopilot” or “Biafra Restoration Group,” calling such claims baseless and urging IPOB to “take Nigeria serious and take Igbo people serious.”
Shifting to national politics, Kalu refuted rumors of rivalry among prominent Igbo figures aligned with President Tinubu, including himself, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu, Works Minister David Umahi, and Abia Governor Alex Otti. “There’s nothing like that. There’s no hustling for what?” he exclaimed. Kalu described Umahi as a longtime business friend and Benjamin Kalu as “my younger brother” whom he mentored into politics. He shared anecdotes of recent friendly interactions, including gifts from Umahi’s camp, to underscore the absence of “divisive assertions.”
On Nigeria’s escalating insecurity, Kalu rejected calls for President Tinubu’s resignation, attributing the crisis to spillover from regional instabilities in Mali, Libya, and Iraq, where arms proliferation has fueled domestic threats. “This insecurity has nothing to do with any particular person,” he argued, stressing the need for nationwide intelligence-sharing and cooperation among the armed forces, paramilitary agencies, and citizens. He praised Tinubu’s initiatives, such as appointing a former Chief of Defence Staff as Defence Minister and boosting recruitment in the police and military, but warned that sabotage and mineral theft by insurgents complicate efforts.
Kalu, who recently joined a security assessment mission to Cameroon led by Taraba Governor Agbu Kefas, hinted at collaborative strategies without revealing details. “President Tinubu is putting everything he has on the table to make sure that Nigerian borders are secured,” he said, drawing parallels to past threats like Boko Haram blockades during his university days.
Addressing claims of a “Christian genocide” in Nigeria, a phrase invoked by U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, Kalu affirmed that indiscriminate killings target all faiths out of “wickedness to destabilize Nigeria.” Citing Bishop Matthew Kukah, he noted terrorists “know nobody,” slaughtering Muslims in Zamfara or Christians in Benue with equal impunity.
Kalu sidestepped questions about his daughter, Nneka Kalu, who was nominated as ambassador-designate but reportedly rejected the post to focus on her business. “It’s left for Nneka Kalu to decide whether she wants to work or not,” he said, praising her as a “successful businesswoman” and “good mother” educated at top global institutions. He confirmed a recent private meeting but kept details “personal to our family,” while thanking Tinubu for honoring Abia and Igbo people through the nomination.
On the broader controversy surrounding the 68-name ambassadorial list criticized as a “political IOU” favoring allies’ relatives, Kalu defended the president’s prerogative while assuring Senate independence. “The president has full right to appoint anybody he likes… friends and enemies,” he said. However, he promised rigorous vetting: “The Senate will react [if it] didn’t comply with the rules.” Kalu, a critic of executive overreach, emphasized parliament’s role in lawmaking, not implementation.
As Chairman of the Senate Committee on Southeast Development, Kalu lauded the recent Imo Economic Summit under outgoing Governor Hope Uzodimma, urging implementation of its recommendations to boost local industries and investments. “Once it’s good for [Imo] State, it’s [already] good for [the] Southeast,” he said, advocating self-reliance: “Charity begins at home.”
Reflecting on his decades-long career from governor to senator and national honoree, Kalu pushed back against generational critiques, comparing himself to global elders like Trump (79) and Atiku Abubakar (78). At 65, he declared, “I have not reached my peak. My peak is still in front.” He advocated mentoring the youth: “New generation have to work with us… You just don’t jump into a ship you don’t know where it was loaded.”
Kalu concluded with a plea for unity, equity, and peace, urging Igbos to reclaim their place in Nigeria through dialogue, not destruction.
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