APC, PDP throw verbal jabs over GEJ’s N21billion election fund

by Kolapo Olapoju

 

The ruling party, Peoples Democratic Party, and opposition, All Progressives Congress, are once again, engaged in a verbal altercation over the recent fundraising of the PDP, where N21.27 billion was raised for President Goodluck Jonathan’s re-election.

The Buhari Support Organization, the umbrella body of all support groups for the Presidential candidate of the APC, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (rtd), drew first blood by stating that the funds raised at the event, could have been directed to addressing the problems of the ailing power sector.

According to the group, the power sector in Nigeria has turned worse under President Goodluck Jonathan.

The Lagos State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC), also commented on the fundraiser, through its Publicity Secretary, Joe Igbokwe.

He said: “How much did they raise to fight Boko Haram? How much money did they raise to fight unemployment? How much money did those people raise to build security architecture in Nigeria? How much money did they raise to build our schools and hospitals? How much money did they raise to build our roads?”

“I can ask you 20 questions about this money; they are just bringing out the missing $20 billion about which the Emir of Kano complained as former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria, CBN. Where will someone get N5 billion from? If you give Nigerians all the money in the world, we will not get to the moon because it takes expertise. In the same vein, give PDP all the money in the world, it cannot win the 2015 general elections,” Igbokwe added.

However, the Presidency, while reacting to the criticism, has lamented the “ignorance” of the opposition. The Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Affairs, Dr. Doyin Okupe, in a statement on Sunday, said: “Even though we have always known them to be a party with no clear direction, we never thought they could descend so low in exhibiting clear mischief and folly on a critical national issue.”

“We wish to reiterate that this government and the PDP will not engage in a dubious practice of collecting money from private individuals and corporate organisations for a purpose only to divert such money to other purposes.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the power reform programme initiated by President Jonathan is not run on a knee-jerk finance arrangement. It is a properly envisioned road map which is being diligently executed in line with best global practices. The power reform programme is being funded through our national budgets and foreign direct investments running into several billions of dollars.”

“Reputable global players such as the General Electric is investing over a billion dollars into the generation component of the sector. Nigeria is not a beggar nation and it will not be one under the Jonathan presidency.”

Furthermore, Okupe stated: “The suggestion that the N21 billion (105 million dollars) raised at the party fund raising dinner be used for the power project underscores the perplexing ignorance of General Muhammadu Buhari and his team of party voyagers who have shown that they have absolutely no clue about what it requires to implement a modern revolutionary programme in a capital intensive sector such as power.”

“Finally,the accusation that the PDP governors who donated money at the event have not paid civil servants salaries in their states is largely untrue and mischievous. We want to believe that the APC probably has one of its governors in mind when it made this accusation because it is on record that despite being the major financier of the Buhari campaign, this is the governor who has not paid 13,000 teachers their salaries in the last eight months!”

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