ABIA STATE GOVERNOR ORJI KALU'S VISIT

C O N F I D E N T I A L LAGOS 001930

SIPDIS


LONDON FOR GURNEY, PARIS FOR NEARY


E.O. 12958: DECL: 09/11/2008
TAGS: PREL PGOV KDEM OVIP PINR NI
SUBJECT: ABIA STATE GOVERNOR ORJI KALU'S VISIT

Classified By: CONSUL GENERAL ROBYN HINSON-JONES FOR REASONS 1.5 (B) AN


D (D).



1. (U) This is Post's response to Department's request for
information on Abia State Governor Orji Kalu who is to meet
with A/S Walter Kansteiner September,2003.



2. (U) Orji Uzor Kalu is 44 years old. Both he and his wife
hold "green cards" and their two daughters are AmCits. Kalu
and his wife hold degrees from US universities. Before
entering his first term as governor on May 29, 2001, Kalu
owned and led several international companies manufacturing
or producing furniture, paper and vegetable oils. His
business operations were last reported to earn around USD 20
million annually. Kalu has been dubbed the "Action Governor"
by President Olusegun Obasanjo because of his ability to get
projects and programs for Abia State going quickly soon after
he assumed office. He is said to have close ties to former
military dictator Ibrahim Babangida, who is also rumored to
have steered lucrative contracts to Kalu's businesses during
the military's rule. He is a member of the ruling Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP),but counts as a close friend the only
Alliance for Democracy (AD) governor to win re-election in
2003, Lagos Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu. "Spontaneous"
movements to put Kalu forward as a potential candidate for
the presidency were launchedbefore the just-completed 2003
elections and arealready being reported for the 2007
elections. alu is ambitious, demanding, fearless, and
decisive to the point of bluntness, but he keeps his
promises, pays his debts and has a reputation for delivering
the goods.



3. (C) Kalu is an Igbo and has, from his days as a student,
espoused the notion that the Igbos should have their turn
running Nigeria. He, like many southern governors and
political players, has repeatedly called for "true
federalism" as the solution to the problems of the nation.
From our conversations with contacts, what is understood by
the term "true federalism" is a return to local (or at least
regional) control of States' income and resources. As the
system now functions, all income goes to the federal
government to be parceled out to the States as the central
government sees fit and for those projects the federal
government wants to support. Most of the southern States,
the almost exclusive source of the national income from oil
and gas, have never been satisfied with this system and
complain continuously. Kalu has reportedly used some of his
own money to get needed projects off the ground in Abia. All
the matters -- except debt relief -- that Kalu wishes to
discuss relate to the issue of returning control of funds
back to the States.



4. (C) On a recent trip to the US to address a gathering of
Nigerian-Americans, Kalu brought up the fact that Abia State
was saddled with paying back a crippling and unfair share of
the national debt incurred during the civilian administration
of Shehu Shagari. We have information that Kalu has been
successful in past years in getting loans for the State to
pay operating expenses such as salaries. During his months
long struggle with his Deputy Governor Enyinnaya Abaribe,
this was one of the main points of friction between the two,
with Abaribe charging that Kalu was needlessly getting the
State into uncontrollable debt. We do not have direct
information on the current financial situation in Abia, but
it is certain Kalu can not continue to finance out of his own
pocket and may be looking for ways the USG could help get
outside funding for his State.
HINSON-JONES