With a few days left until the much awaited Presidential primaries of the All Progressive’s Congress (APC) , the Ahmad Lawan Campaign Organisation has approved the appointment of the former Governor of Abia state and current Chief Whip of the 9th Senate, Senator Orji Uzor Kalu as its Director-General.
Lawan who is also the Senate President and Chairman of National Assembly is running for the office of the Nigeria President alongside 22 others under the platform of the APC.
Making the disclosure at a high powered meeting held in Abuja on Thursday, well attended by members, the Ahmad Lawan Central Campaign Organisation also announced the appointment of eight other Party Stalwarts as National Executive Officers to sit as chairmen inorder to oversee eight Committees of the Campaign Organisation.
The team met behind closed doors to fine tune strategies and consolidate on the gains made so far . Lawan’s team led by Kalu is expected to strengthen the campaign organization and build a stronger cohesion that would deliver the All Progressives Congress (APC) ticket to the Senate President during the presidential primaries, and ultimately lead him to victory in the general election.
The names of Chairmen of the eight committees include:
1. Finance and Budget
Auwal Lawan –Chairman
Senator Sani Musa–Co-Chairman
2. Strategy and Planning
Senator Ikechukwu Obiora –Chairman
Senator Betty Apiafi –Deputy Chairman
3 . Contact and Mobilization
Senator Barau Jibrin –Chairman
Senator Peter Nwaoboshi—Deputy Chairman
4. Media and Publicity
Senator Aliyu Sabi Abdullahi –Chairman
Femi Fani Kayode–Deputy Chairman
5.Security and Intelligence
Mallam Lawal Daura–Chairman
Commodore Mohammed Barau(Rtrd) –Deputy Chairman
6.Transport and Logistics
Senator Bello Mandiya–Chairman
Hon. Hillary Bisong—Deputy Chairman
7. Youth Groups
Prince Mustapha Audu —Chairman
8. Women Groups
Hon. Aisha Ismail–Chairperson
Orji Uzor Kalu is a Nigerian politician and businessperson who is a Senator representing Abia North Senatorial District, He also serves as the Chief Whip of the House of Senate, Federal Republic of Nigeria.
He served as the Governor of Abia State, Nigeria from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007.
In 2007 Orj Kalu, once contested for president under his party, PPA, The Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate officially withdrew from the 2023 presidential race and threw his weight behind the Senate President, Ahmad Lawan, to succeed President Muhammadu Buhari in 2023.
Kalu cited his decision over the refusal of the South-West and South-South regions to support the Southeast’s Presidential bid, he slammed presidential aspirants from other regions in the South for what he described as no respect for the South-east and disregard for equity and fairness in playing politics.
In his statement, the chief whip indicated his willingness to support the North-east which has never produced the President of Nigeria, he has since pinched his tent with the Senate President and has embarked on rigorous campaign on behalf of Lawan.
Orji Uzor Kalu contested in the 2019 Nigerian general election to represent the people of Abia North in the senate, running under the banner of All Progressives Congress. He defeated the incumbent senator Mao Ohuabunwa with over 10,000 votes.
Asides chains of other businesses, Kalu is the chairman of the Daily Sun, a Nigerian daily print newspaper founded and published in Ikeja, Lagos, Nigeria. Kalu is also the chairman of the New Telegraph newspaper, with a circulation of 100,000 copies per day.
