Mr Orji Uzor Kalu

Former Governor of Abia, Leader of the Progressive People's Alliance (PPA)

Date of Birth: 21/04/1960

Education: Christ the King School, Aba; Eziama High School, Aba; Government College, Umuahia; University of Maiduguri; Harvard University; Abia State University.

Career: Chairman, Cooperative and Commerce Bank Limited, 1987; Founder, SLOK; Founder, People's Democratic Party (PDP), 1998; Governor, Abia State, 1999-07.

Commentary: Orji Kalu's generous contributions to the PDP once led him to remark that if the party were a company he would be its largest shareholder.  As Abia State Governor, he was responsible for the emergence of the Bakassi Boys, a group of vigilantes that acted as his personal police force. His interest in business developed during his days as a student at the University of Maiduguri. It was at the university that he met then Vice Chancellor Jibril Aminu. The relationship helped him greatly when Aminu became the Oil Minister and granted Kalu an oil block.