By Enyeribe Ejiogu
Chief Whip of the Senate and former governor of Abia State, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, will on June 26 have the administration building of the Southern Atlantic Polytechnic, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, named after him as the highpoint of the ceremony marking the matriculation of over 300 pioneer students of the new school. Also to be honoured are the chief executive of the state, Governor Udom Emmanuel and his wife, among other personalities.
Founder of the polytechnic, Pastor Bassey James who disclosed this in a telephone chat with Sunday Sun from Uyo, explained why the Board of Trustees and Management of the institution decided to honour the Senate Chief Whip, Governor Emmanuel and other honourees.
“Orji Kalu has been my mentor since 1989 when I first met him. He has imparted so much knowledge and business ideas into me and added a lot of value to my life over the years. As a private citizen, between 1989 and 1999, he made me one of the youngest members of the Nigerian Import and Export Association and gave me access to people that matter all over the world. He introduced me to so many good business opportunities.
“I learnt how to build and sustain friendships from him; he is a man that keeps his friends and also keeps his word. When he became the governor of Abia State, I worked and lived with him in the Government House in Umuahia for eight years,” James said.
Describing Kalu as a book he had studied, he added: “The only way I can show appreciation to Orji Uzor Kalu is to name one of the key buildings in the polytechnic after him. Even before I started the school, I consulted him and he encouraged me.”