The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has described the allegation by one of its members, Kassim Afegbua, upon which he claimed to have petitioned the EFCC and ICPC, asking that the leadership of the party should account for an alleged sum of N10 billion, as spurious and irresponsible.
According to Afegbua, the said sum was allegedly realized from the sale of “forms in 2019”.
In a statement, National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan said the leaders and members were aware that there was no truth in the allegation but for the benefit of the public and the party’s teeming supporters, the party did not raise Afegbua’s fictitious sum of N10 billion as alleged by him.
Ologbondiyan said the party generated the sum of N4.6 billion and raised a budget for its expenditure, in line with all known financial regulations of the party.
He said the budget passed through the organs of the party and received the approvals from the NWC, the Governors’ Forum, the Board of Trustees as well as other organs of the party.
He said as a law-abiding political party that respected the doctrine of rule of law and transparency, the budget was presented to the National Executive Committee (NEC) where it also received a final approval.
Ologbondiyan further stated that all the sums received and budgeted for passed through the due process of approval by the necessary organs of the party.
He said the party had no account under the name or guise of Afegbua’s ghostly Morufu Nigeria Limited.
“Having said that, as a political party, under whose administration the EFCC and the ICPC were formulated and established, our party strictly adheres to best practices of transparency, accountability and probity in all issues including our financial administration.
“In addition, our party has since submitted the audited account of its financial expenditures to the INEC for 2019, in line with statutory requirements of the law,” he added.
He said the party would not in any way be distracted by an inconsequential blackmailer hired to mudsling the party and its leadership, in order to divert attention from the salient issues of insecurity and drooping economy trailing the failures of the APC administration to provide good governance.
He said the activities of a certain Afegbua had always been suspect and urged Nigerians to be wary of such characters and their backers.
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