Former Abia State Governor and senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, has dismissed claims linking him to the financing of Autopilot or any other militant group operating in the South-East, describing the allegations as false and irresponsible.
Kalu addressed the controversy during an interview on Arise TV on Sunday, speaking on separatist agitation, insecurity, his relationship with President Bola Tinubu, and public criticism over his daughter’s ambassadorial nomination.
Reacting to the accusation by IPOB spokesperson Emma Powerful, Kalu said he had no connection whatsoever to Autopilot.
He said, “I don’t know anything. I’ve never heard this name. I cannot sponsor anything. I was governor. I established the Bakassi, and the Bakassi was in charge. I think these kids should take Nigeria serious and take Igbo people serious.”
He explained that the Bakassi outfit he created as governor was strictly for security.
The lawmaker further stated, “The Bakassi was not for boyfriend or for girlfriend. It was purely to police and keep our place safe. I have no regrets in doing it. If you give me the opportunity again, I will keep the place safe again.”
Kalu criticised violent agitation in the South-East, accusing separatists of undermining the very region they claim to protect.
He said, “These guys should stop this old-fashioned way of doing things. They should think of how to move forward, how to use political solutions to sort out the Igbos.
“Nobody takes the Igbo serious when it comes to these things.”
He challenged IPOB’s spokesperson directly, “If Emma Powerful is alive, he should come on with you in a programme and tell me where I established Autopilot. What is called Autopilot? I don’t understand. I’ve never heard that name before.”
Kalu said the violent campaigns were pushing the region to economic collapse.
He said, “Even if these boys want Biafra, who are you going to rule when you kill all the Igbos? When you stop all Igbos from doing business? When on Mondays, if you see people going out for business, you start pursuing them and killing them? It is not rational.
“Even if they want Biafra, they should drop their arms and go with their flags and demand for what they want… Talk for a referendum, if that is what they want.”
The senator also rejected suggestions that he, Deputy Speaker Benjamin Kalu and Works Minister Dave Umahi were competing to be President Tinubu’s closest ally in the region.
He said, “No, no, no, no. “I spoke to Umahi the day before yesterday, and I spoke to Ben Kalu yesterday. There’s no hustling for what? I am a senator… Ben Kalu is like my younger brother. I put him in business. I put him in politics.”
He added that Umahi recently sent Christmas gifts to him, insisting there was no rivalry. “So I don’t know why you want to cause trouble,” he said.
Kalu rejected calls for President Tinubu to step down over rising insecurity, arguing that the crisis is driven by broader regional instability and weapon proliferation.
He said, “This insecurity has nothing to do with any particular person.
“All the arms coming from [Libya, Mali and parts of Iraq] are turning back to Nigeria. This war is not only a war of weapons. It is a war of intelligence.”
He urged security agencies to deepen cooperation.
Kalu said, “The army, air force, navy and all related agencies must work more on intelligence and cooperation. These people are not insurgents. They want to scare everybody away from where there are minerals so they can take them.”
Defending President Tinubu, he added, “President Tinubu has done what he thinks he should do. I don’t know any new thing critics will do.”
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