EXCLUSIVE: How I Became Billionaire Before Joining Politics Senator Orji Kalu Shares Experience

The former governor of Abia State, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu said he had become a billionaire before his involvement in politics.

Dr. Orji Kalu, who is said to be one of the richest politicians from Nigeria’s South-east and senator representing Abia North District and the Chief Whip of the Nigerian Senate, has been in the news following his ambition to run for Presidency, in 2023.

He is said to be one of the richest politicians from Nigeria’s South-east.

The senator, in an interview with Arise TV on Thursday, said he has been involved in different kinds of businesses, ranging from the sales of palm oil to crude oil export and the importation of sugar.

He said he had also been involved in supplies of military equipment to the Nigerian Army and food to soldiers at the battlefronts.

Reuben Abati, a renowned writer, was among the Arise TV crew during the interview with the renowned Senator.

Mr Kalu who prudently avoided disclosing ownership of the Sun and the Telegraph newspapers, said he started moving palm oil from the south to the north, specifically to Maiduguri, when he was a student at the University of Maiduguri.

“When I went to Maiduguri I found out that palm oil is very lucrative in Maiduguri, they don’t have it. So whenever I am back in the house for holiday, I will buy palm oil and go back. When I go back on another holiday, I will buy dried fish and sell (them). I started like that,” Mr Kalu said in the interview.

The senator said he ran into Ibrahim Babangida and Muhammadu Buhari when both were top officers in the army, but he did not disclose how the two men, who later ruled Nigeria, helped him to advance his business interests.

He said he was into massive importation of sugar and rice at some point in his life, and that he was a strong competitor with Aliko Dangote, the man who is Africa’s richest man today.

“I was one of the largest importers of rice and sugar. For me, making money is an art,” Mr Kalu said. “Then I started building industries in Aba and Ota.”