A former Abia State Governor, Dr. Orji Uzor Kalu, says he never stole N7.2 billion while at the helm between 1999 and 2007.
He stated that during his tenure, Abia State had no such fund.
Kalu made the denial while continuing his testimony before Justice Mohammed Idris of a Federal High Court in Lagos to prove his innocence of the allegation level against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The former governor, while responding to a question from his lawyer, Prof. Awa Kalu (SAN) during examination-in-chief said that there was no way he could have stolen what was not in existence.
To back up his denial of the allegations, the former governor, who is currently the Chief Whip of the Senate, emphasized the difficulties he encountered in running the state with federal government allocations.
Kalu had earlier in his evidence told the court that he has been a successful businessman before venturing into politics.
The former governor also disclosed that he also deals in buying and selling of property.
He further disclosed that he made all his statements to the EFCC under bad treatment from some police officers.