TheCable

Orji Kalu, chief whip of the senate, says if elected president, he will make Nigeria a “big player” in world affairs just like what he did with Enyimba FC.

In January, Kalu announced that he will contest the presidency in 2023 if the ticket of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is zoned to the south.

The senate chief whip was the governor of Abia state between 1999 and 2007.

Enyimba FC, an Aba-based football club was taken over by the Abia government after the state was created in 1991.

The club won major trophies at the national and continental levels between 2001 and 2004, and is a major force to reckon with in football in Nigeria and Africa.

Speaking on Friday during an interview on Channels Television on what he will offer Nigeria if elected president, the former Abia governor said Nigeria is like a football team which he can effectively manage.

“What I’m going to be getting on the table is the stability of the country; the rebranding of the country and giving Nigerian people that confidence that they are Nigerians and giving them the motivation to move forward,” he said.

“Nigeria to me is like a football team and I have done it in the past with the Enyimba football team and I can do it in the future because what every aspect of this country needs is just motivation.

“I know the faults, ups and downs of Nigeria. I can make Nigeria a very big team and a big player in the world affairs because when you look at my face, you see the face of Nigeria.”

‘MONEY IS NOT THE PROBLEM — I CAN CHALLENGE TINUBU’

Asked if he can challenge the likes of Bola Tinubu for the APC presidential ticket, Kalu said that wouldn’t be a problem.

“I was governor with him. There is no difficulty in challenging anybody. We are all going to meet in Eagle Square and we will square it out there. There is no difficulty. We are all friends,” he said.

“I’m the only political businessman that Forbes recognises as a billionaire and not sure there is anything those people can do in terms of money that I can’t do. I do not think they can speak to anybody in Nigeria or in the world I can’t speak to.

“Politics is not only about money. It is going to be about the people you are going to govern. The people will decide. Money is just a secondary issue.

“The primary issue we are going to be talking about is the people. I can move people. The people are with me. Money is not going to be a problem I want to assure you. I was governor the same year as Tinubu.”