Kalu Orji Uzor

Orji Uzor Kalu (born 21 April 1960) is a Nigerian politician and businessman representing Abia North Senatorial District.

He served as governor of Abia State from 29 May 1999 to 29 May 2007. Kalu is the chairman of SLOK Holding and the editors of the Daily Sun and New Telegraph newspapers in Nigeria.

Prior to his political career, he was chairman of the Borno Water Board and the Cooperative and Commerce Bank Limited. Kalu was a member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Progressive Peoples Alliance (PPA), and chairman of the PPA Board of Trustees. He was the party’s presidential candidate in the April 2007 general election.

He joined the ruling All Progressive Congress (APC) after resigning from the PPA Board of Trustees. Kalu contested the 2019 Nigerian general election under the APC banner, defeating incumbent Senator Mao Ohuabunwa with over 10,000 votes.

Born to Mr. Johnson Uzor Nesiegbe Kalu and Mrs. Eunice Kalu, Kalu began trading palm oil with $35 borrowed from his mother, expanding into furniture resale and eventually founding SLOK Holding, a diversified conglomerate.

Kalu became the youngest Nigerian to receive the National Merit Award from President Ibrahim Babangida at age 26 (1986). He has been recognized as the Nigerian Chamber of Commerce’s Industrialist of the Year and received multiple humanitarian and volunteer awards, including the EU Special Award and the World Bank Leon Sullivan Award.