Former Governor of Abia and Senator-elect for Abia North Senatorial District, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu (MON) has secured a major oil deal with the Venezuelan government.
Igbere TV reports that Kalu secured the oil deal on Saturday in far away Caracas, Venezuela.
It comes a day after the Senator-elect announced that his Orji Uzor Kalu (OUK) Foundation had distributed 18 buses to some of his constituents, in line with the foundation’s empowerment policy.
Igbere TV had reported that the former governor and a few of his aides are in Venezuela on a business trip. They were received by H.E Martin N. Cobham, Nigerian Ambassador to Venezuela, upon their arrival.
Kalu, a Forbes-rated billionaire businessman, has been in the vanguard of empowering youth and creating jobs for the teeming Nigerian population over the years.
Aside being a philanthropist and politician, Kalu has built a business empire with vast investments in oil and gas, banking, insurance, media and publishing, real estate, agriculture, aviation, hospitality, shipping, construction, manufacturing and others operating under the parent company: SLOK Group. These business entities have on their payroll thousands of Nigerians and non-Nigerians.
Even though he is yet to be sworn in as a Senator, the billionaire philanthropist had on different fora, reiterated that his constituents will benefit a lot from his representation at the National Assembly.
The Orji Uzor Kalu Foundation is a household name in philanthropy as robust, responsive and sustainable initiatives aimed at complementing government’s efforts are rolled out from time to time for the betterment of the society.
The programmes of the foundation include peace advocacy, mentorship, women and youth empowerment, transport scheme, zero-interest petty traders’ loan, free palm seedlings and free medical scheme. The less privileged and indigents have benefitted in no small measure from the gestures of the foundation.
Recently, the foundation under its Agricultural Empowerment Scheme, empowered rural farmers drawn from the three Senatorial districts of Abia with over 450,000 palm seedlings.
Speaking at the launch of the programme at his Igbere country home in Bende Local Government Area, Kalu said that the initiative was his own support to President Muhammadu Buhari’s policy to revolutionise agriculture in Nigeria.
He said that the initiative was designed to encourage Abia farmers to go into palm plantation and other cash crops in order to create wealth.
“This is a sure way of creating wealth among the people of Abia. It is better than sharing money to them,” he said.
With the sealing of this new deal, the people of Abia, South-East, and, indeed, Nigerians at large, are sure of ‘better days ahead’, from the distinguished philanthropist cum Senator-elect.
More to follow…
1) Dr. Frank Osita Chuks
2) His Excellency, Ambassador Martin .N. Cobham (Nigerian Ambassador to Venezuela)
3) Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu (MON), Chairman SLOK Group
4) Mr. Manuel Quevedo (Minister of the People’s Power for Petroleum and President of the Venezuelan-owned Oil Company: PDVSA)
5) Miss. Ugochi Ike Okoroafor (Personal Assistant to Orji Kalu)
6) Mr. Marcos Alejandro Rojas Marchena (PDVSA Vice President of Internal Affairs)
7) Mr. Guillermo Blanco. (Vice Minister of Refining and Petrochemical)
8) Mr. Alejandro Rojas (PDVSA Vice President of Trade and Supply)
9) Mr. Fernando De Quintal (PDVSA Vice President of Finance)
10) Mr. Rodolfo Jiménez (PDVSA Vice President of Refining)
