Lawmaker representing Abia South Senatorial district, Senator Enyinnaya Abaribe, has recounted an experience he had when he was sworn in as Deputy Governor of Abia State.
Abaribe and Orji Uzor Kalu, now a Senator, took oath of office as Governor and Deputy Governor on May 29, 1999.
During an interactive session with journalists in Umuahia, Abia capital, he recounted how his convoy was taken away from him on inauguration day.
“I was sitting at the podium in Umuahia stadium, there was a flashback, I remembered exactly what happened to me as a deputy governor.”
“I went to shake the now deputy governor, Emetu, and I looked at him and I just laughed you know why? On the day I was sworn in, I took the oath first, the governor, Kalu, took the oath, after everything was done and we were to go to Okpara auditorium for lunch, I couldn’t find my vehicle.
“The vehicle was given to me by the departing colonel Obi, a convoy, and we stood there, I and my wife, and we were looking, where is the convoy? Eventually, we managed to scramble into a relative’s vehicle to take us to the event centre.
“We found out that from the field there, somebody had given instruction for the convoy to move and that they were no longer my convoy and it was now designated as the convoy of the wife of the governor.
“When I confronted the governor the next Monday, I said what happened? he said “I didn’t know, they just told me it is my wife’s convoy and I said ok, let them move it. This is the kind of things that people see in politics.
“There are two ways to react; you lie back and take it or you strongly protest and then you are tagged a trouble maker.”
Kalu had not responded to Daily Trust inquiries on the development as of the time this report was filed.
