Senator Orji Uzor Kalu shed emotional tears on Saturday while making his valedictory speech on the floor of the Senate, saying he is not a thief and has never been one.
The former Governor of Abia State said before he came into politics, he could afford anything that money could buy.
“I’m not a thief. Those who put me in prison know the reason. They took over my businesses and wanted to kill me, yet I survived it, and I’m in the Senate with you,” Kalu said.
According to Kalu, he had never lacked, saying that while he was in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) where he served for two terms as governor, he donated the money they used to form that party, every kobo, in 1997 and 1998.
“People I gave transport money from my house in Victoria Island became agents. This is what Nigeria represents. Thank you for giving me these four years of uninterrupted support. This country is not fair,” Kalu was quoted by The Punch as saying.
Kalu was convicted by the Lagos Division of the Federal High Court on December 5, 2019 and sentenced to 12 years in prison for alleged N7.65 billion fraud.
He was convicted for allegedly defrauding the government of Abia State – where he was the governor for 8 years – using his company, Slok Nigeria Limited.
But on May 8, 2020, the Supreme Court ruled that his trial was wrongly conducted, and released him from prison.