Prominent Abia-born businessman, Chief Nnanna Ukaegbu, has come down heavily on the Publisher of All Facts Newspaper, Emenike Iroegbu, over his recent call on Senator Orji Uzor Kalu to abandon his 2027 senatorial ambition.
In a statement issued in Umuahia, Chief Ukaegbu dismissed Iroegbu as a “cash-and-carry blogger” and accused him of making himself a willing tool for desperate politicians plotting against the former Abia State Governor.
According to Ukaegbu, Iroegbu’s anger towards Senator Kalu is not borne out of principle but because the lawmaker has consistently refused to give him money or patronise his blog.
“Emenike is not a journalist but a political errand boy. He survives by attaching himself to politicians and hawking his pen to the highest bidder. Can he deny that he was collecting money from Ikpeazu’s administration and the office of Chinedu Orji? Can he deny that he was on the Labour Party payroll in 2023 working against Senator Kalu? Can he deny that today he is collecting from a serial contestant from Ohafia LGA and another desperate politician from Bende LGA who are eyeing the Senate seat? Everybody in Abia knows this truth,” Ukaegbu declared.
The businessman further noted that Iroegbu had in the past praised Orji Uzor Kalu’s outstanding performance, but suddenly turned against him after being denied patronage.
“Like a dog, let him continue to bark. Orji Uzor Kalu will not give him one kobo today, tomorrow or ever,” he fumed.
On the issue of zoning, Ukaegbu said Abia North is not for sale, adding that “even if it were, Orji Uzor Kalu has the capacity to buy it ten times over.”
He insisted that no politician, whether from Ohafia, Bende, or Iroegbu Emenike who is also backed by “a Lagos-based lawyer,” can stop Kalu in 2027.
“OUK fears no politician, no party, and no conspiracy. In 2027, he will defeat all of them put together, because he remains the face of APC in Abia State and the most formidable political figure from Abia North,” he added.
Chief Ukaegbu also accused Iroegbu of hypocrisy, asking why he never raised objections when other lawmakers spent even longer years in the National Assembly.
“Where was his voice when Enyinnaya Abaribe has been in the Senate since 2007? Where was he when Nkeiruka Onyejeocha spent 16 years in the House of Representatives? What about the late Uche Chukwumerije, from his own federal constituency, who spent 12 years in the Senate? His cash-and-carry conscience never complained then,” he said.
He stressed that Senator Kalu’s record in bills, motions, constituency projects, and interventions speaks for itself, pointing out that the lawmaker even facilitated projects in Iroegbu’s own Umuasua community, including roads and solar lights.
“What have his sponsors from Ohafia and Bende done for his people? Absolutely nothing,” he said.
He concluded by insisting that the people of Abia North will re-elect Senator Kalu in 2027, describing Iroegbu as “a frustrated, merchandise blogger intimidated by Kalu’s towering achievements and fearful that his sponsors will fail again.”
“Every right-thinking Abian knows Senator Orji Uzor Kalu is performing. That is why Abia North will return him in 2027. No amount of blackmail from a cash-and-carry blogger and his paymasters will change that reality,” Ukaegbu declared.
