The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has denied the allegation by a former spokesman of its Presidential Campaign Council, Kassim Afegbua, that it generated about N10 billion from the sale of forms in 2019.
Naija News had reported how Afegbua had petitioned the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), seeking the probe of the party’s leadership.
But in a statement on Monday by its National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, the PDP described the claim by Afegbua as spurious and irresponsible.
Ologbondiyan stated there was no truth in the allegation, stressing that the party generated N4.6 billion and raised a budget for its expenditure, in line with all known financial regulations of the PDP.
He said the party has since submitted the audited account of its financial expenditures to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for 2019, in line with statutory requirements of the law.
He said: “This budget passed through the organs of our party and received the approvals from the National Working Committee (NWC), the Governors’ Forum, the Board of Trustees, as well as other organs of the party.
“As a law-abiding political party that respects 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.
“It is imperative to state that all the sums received and budgeted for passed through the due process of approval by the necessary organs of the party. Moreover, the PDP has 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.”
“The PDP would not be distracted by anyone hired to mud-sling it and its leadership, in order to divert attention from the issues of security and economy by the alleged failures of the All Progressives Congress (APC) administration to provide good governance.
“For the benefit of unsuspecting members of the public, the activities of a certain Afegbua have always been suspected and we urge Nigerians to be wary of such characters and their backers.”