A respected academic and development analyst, Prof Kalu Eni, says the low poverty rate in Abia North Senatorial District is a result of the development credited to the long-term and targeted investments made by former governor and current senator, Dr Orji Uzor Kalu.
He praised Kalu’s consistency in empowering the zone through infrastructure, education, and economic development both as Governor (1999–2007) and now as Senator.
“Abia North today enjoys a higher quality of life than most zones in the country. This is not by luck. It is the result of years of sustained investment, especially during Kalu’s time as governor when he aggressively tackled poverty through free education, road projects, and rural empowerment,” Prof Eni stated.
The National Bureau of Statistics had, in its report during Kalu’s governorship, noted that Abia State recorded a poverty rate of 40.9% — the lowest in the South-East and among the top five lowest in the country.
According to Prof Eni, this progress has been sustained and even expanded under Kalu’s current mandate as Senator for Abia North.
Among his most notable recent interventions is the ongoing construction of a world-class cashew processing factory in Igbere, designed to create over 5,000 jobs. The factory, which will handle shelling, roasting, baking, and packaging of cashew nuts, is expected to significantly boost local agricultural value chains, particularly in cashew-producing areas like Isuikwuato and Umunneochi.
Kalu has also empowered thousands of youths and women in Abia North through the distribution of sewing machines, refrigerators, generators, motorcycles, and financial grants. In agriculture, he has delivered high-quality fertilisers, rice, and farm inputs to local farmers, further boosting productivity in the area.
In the past six years alone, he has facilitated the construction of over 140 rural roads connecting remote farming communities to markets. Roads such as Ndi Orieke–Ohafia, Amankalu–Abiriba, and many others across Bende, Arochukwu, Ohafia, Isuikwuato, and Umunneochi LGAs have eased transportation, cut post-harvest losses, and increased farmers’ incomes.
In education, Kalu has continued where he left off as governor. He oversaw the construction of over 130 new schools, renovation of more than 100 others, and distributed free educational materials including school bags, uniforms, and books — a direct continuation of his legacy of free education from his gubernatorial years.
“These are not handouts. They are deliberate, long-term efforts to structurally reduce poverty,” Prof Eni noted. “The people of Abia North now have better access to education, roads, income, and jobs than many other areas in the zone. That is the Kalu effect.”
He concluded by urging political leaders in the zone to support continuity and competence in leadership.
“We must not abandon the only leader who has consistently invested in the people. The transformation of Abia North is proof of what visionary leadership can do.”