A heated exchange has erupted between Orji Uzor Kalu and Onyebuchi Ememanka over a controversial claim about ABSU school fees. Click the link below to read the full report.
A fresh political controversy has erupted in Abia State after Barrister Onyebuchi Ememanka, the Director General of the Abia State Strategic Communications Bureau, publicly accused former governor and current senator representing Abia North, Orji Uzor Kalu, of making misleading claims about the history of school fees at Abia State University.
Ememanka, in a comical statement, directly challenged remarks reportedly made by Kalu during a political event held over the weekend in Igbere, where the senator claimed that school fees at the university were as high as ₦200,000 when he assumed office as governor in 1999, but that he reduced the amount drastically to ₦7,000.
Describing the claim as inaccurate, the government spokesman bluntly told the former governor: “Yes, you are lying, sir.”
“Certain Lies Should Not Come From You” — Ememanka
In his message addressed to the senator, Ememanka expressed shock that such a claim could come from someone who once served as governor and now represents the state in the National Assembly.
According to him, leaders who have held such high offices must be careful with public statements, especially when discussing historical records.
“Proper home training will not allow me say exactly what I would have loved to say to you,” Ememanka wrote, while noting that there are “certain levels of lie that should not proceed from the mouth of a former governor and serving senator.”
To counter the senator’s claim, Ememanka cited his personal experience as a law student at Abia State University during the period Kalu became governor in 1999.
He stated that the tuition at the time was far lower than the figure mentioned by the senator.
According to him, school fees at ABSU in 1999 ranged between ₦7,000 and ₦8,000, and when he eventually graduated in 2001, the amount he paid was slightly above ₦9,000, including accommodation fees.
Ememanka insisted that even by the time Kalu completed his tenure as governor in 2007, school fees at the university had not come anywhere close to ₦200,000.
“If school fees was anywhere near the figure you quoted, someone like me would never have gone to university,” he added, explaining that even the ₦7,000 tuition at the time posed a financial challenge for his late father.
To reinforce his claim, the Abia government spokesman referenced several individuals who were students at the university during that period and could verify the figures.
Among those he mentioned were Joseph Mr’musa Agwu, Kaodi Onuoha, Ogbuehi Orihedinma, and Uche Ihemanma, noting that they were all witnesses to the school fee structure at the time.
He also cited an older student, UgoBeree GeneralBahdman Wajueko, who reportedly returned to the university after working for over four decades at the Nigerian Railways.
The sharp rebuttal is already generating conversations within Abia’s political circles, as it comes amid growing political engagements ahead of future elections in the state.
Observers say the dispute highlights ongoing political rivalry and debates about past governance records, particularly as political actors attempt to shape narratives about their legacy in Abia State.
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