President Goodluck Jonathan's associates have released
up documentary evidence that members of the National
Working Committee of the People's Democratic Party
(PDP) stole funds belonging to the party's treasury
shortly after President Jonathan lost the presidential
election on March 28, 2015.
Two close associates of the president spoke to
SaharaReporters on what one of them described as
"shameless stealing of party funds by officials entrusted
with running the affairs of the party."
The two sources disclosed that President Jonathan felt
betrayed by the "greedy actions" of the NWC members.
The Presidency sources gave SaharaReporters internal
vouchers showing that the party's NWC members shelled
out over a quarter of billion naira in unexplained fees to
themselves on April 8, 2015.
The monies, which were paid out of the party's Zenith
Bank account number ending with 6016, revealed that
the party's national chairman, Adamu Muazu, was paid
N100 million through Julius Berger PLC while the deputy
chairman of the party, Uche Secondus, received N40
million. The documents provided by the Presidency also
revealed that the PDP's national secretary, Adewale
Oladipo, got N30 million. Other members who got N30
million each include Buhari Bala, who is national
treasurer of the party, Bolaji Akpan Anani, national
financial secretary, Olisa Metuh, national publicity
secretary, Adeyanju Fatai, the party's national auditor,
Abubakar Mustapha, national organizing secretary, Kema
Chikwe, national women leader, Victor Yusuf Kwon,
national Legal adviser, Hussaini Maibasira, and the
deputy national secretary, Onwe Solomon.
Apart from the scandalous payments, another set of
documents shows that the PDP also compelled
delegates to its annual convention to pay N10,000 each
into the private accounts of Marufi Nigeria Limited. One
of the Presidency sources described the company as a
fraudulent front linked to a top member of the NWC.
One of the Presidency sources stated that the NWC
members contributed in a large measure to the defeat of
President Jonathan, adding that they more interested in
pursuing their private material interests than the party's
corporate interest. "They were too busy helping
themselves to party funds as President Jonathan's
campaign suffered."
In a fierce rebuttal, several of the NWC members told
SaharaReporters stated that President Jonathan was the
architect of his own failure. "He was the person running
the country, not members of the NWC. If Nigerians
turned against him, it's not because of anything the
NWC did or didn't do," one member said.
Another NWC member accused the president and his
closest associates of operating the president's multi-
billion dollar campaign using structures outside the
party.
One member of the NWC accused President Jonathan of
planning to hijack the party in order to place his
loyalists in place in anticipation of running for office
again in 2019.
The NWC member accused Governor Godswill Akpabio of
Akwa Ibom State of leading the plot to remove the
Muazu-led NWC.
"We are determined to ensure that nobody can just
pocket a party that many eminent Nigerians contributed
to establish," one NWC source vowed.
Before going to press PDP Publicity Secretary, Olisa
Metuh told Saharareporters that the payments was made
to assist NWC for the Governorship and state house of
assembly elections that took place on April 11th 2015.
He said that since the Presidency was more concerned
about transparency, they Presidency Campaign Council
should publish how it gave out N700 million to each
state and most importantly how the Presidency spent
Nigerian resources in the last 6 years.
SOURCE:
SAHARAREPORTERS, NEW YORK
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