The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Alhaji Abdullahi Jalo, has exonerated the party from the arms gate scandal, challenging party chieftains implicated in the scandal to declare whether or not they collected those monies for the party.
Briefing newsmen at the party headquarters in Abuja yesterday, Jalo admitted that the scandal has been damaging to the PDP even though it also implicated chieftains of other political parties.
He said: “Now darkness has now come to light that some people who received the money are not only in the PDP, let us not particularize it. APGA has collected, highly respected Olu Falae collected it, Tanko Yakassai collected. We are not talking of the PDP alone, we are talking of all those that collected money meant for buying arms and this monies were taken away, collected under the guise of campaigning for Goodluck Jonathan.”
Jalo wondered whether there was any directive from the former President which asked former NSA, Col Sambo Dasuki (rtd) to distribute money meant for fighting insurgency for his campaign noting that the practice is to give campaign funds via party chairmen.
He said, “Is there any time Jonathan asked Dasuki to go and distribute money meant for fighting Boko Haram for his campaign? It is known to us that money meant for campaigns are given to the National Chairmen of various political parties.”
Jalo stated that those who collected monies through their registered private companies, including Haliru Bello and Olisa Metuh who received N600 million and N400 million respectively, but did not pay it into the party’s account, should be allowed to answer the questioned put to them without causing additional burden on the party.
He also called for inquiry into the contracts awarded to the companies to establish whether they carried out the contracts awarded to them or not.
“So let me ask: what has that got to do with PDP? When Olisa was acusing Lai Mohammed that he collected a contract from one of the South West states, even Lai Mohammed took him to court. It is not PDP. Now the hunter has become the hunted. Lai’s case is not over, Olisa is under investigation.
“So let us put the records straight; we want any one of these people that has being accused whether in PDP or in APC or APGA to come out and tell us that this money he has collected was given to PDP or any other party. Let them come and tell us that when he was given this money, was he given to go and campaign for Jonathan? If yes, then let him present the paper and evidence. But they should know that this money was not meant for that (campaign). It’s meant for arms purchase,” he said.
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