The Presidency has denied allegations that the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, spent 2 trillion naira on the just concluded general election, VON reports.
This follows a report published on the front page of a national daily on Sunday which the Presidency has described as a mischievous, false and embarrassing report.
The report had gone ahead to state that President Goodluck Jonathan had ordered party bigwigs, ministers and campaign coordinators who were supposed to have used the said money for mobilisation and inducement of voters to refund part of the money given to them since most of them did not deliver on the tasks given to them.
Presidential spokesman, Dr Reuben Abati however described the story as the handiwork of people who want to bring President Jonathan down at all cost, saying that the entire budget for the whole country in a year is just about 4 trillion naira.
“The President has not set up any committee as alleged in that story. It is also not true that the Presidency and the Peoples Democratic Party used state funds, or spent N2 trillion during the campaigns. The innuendoes are wrong-headed; the motives behind the story are suspicious.
The story alleges, for example, that the Presidency spent N2trillion on elections and embarked on a money-sharing spree to party members, support groups and state officials. The authors of the story and their self-appointed megaphones further insinuate that public funds were deployed in this regard. Their allegation of a theft of public funds is extremely malicious.” He noted.
State Funds
Dr Abati said that it was practically impossible since the total annual budget of the country was just N4 trillion; no government would use State funds for such venture.
“How much is the budget of the Federal Government of Nigeria? The annual budget of the Federal Government is a little over N4 trillion. The story is practically suggesting that half of the federal budget was spent on elections. This kind of reckless insinuation is meant to incite the public and instigate national crisis.
With FAAC having to do everything possible every month to ensure disbursements and with the Federal Government heavily committed to the war against terror in the North East, where is the alleged N2 trillion from the Federal purse? President Jonathan and the People’s Democratic Party conducted the 2015 elections in strict accordance with the rule of law. The suggestion of any unlawful conduct cannot be sustained under any circumstances,“Dr Abati’s statement read in part.
He called on President Jonathan’s detractors to note that elections were over, and reminded Nigerians that the way and manner the President handled the aftermath of the Presidential and the National Assembly elections have drawn global applause and respect to Nigeria.
The Presidential Spokesman therefore urged Nigerians to avoid any statement that can derail the gains of the last elections.
“President Jonathan has done his best to protect and strengthen democracy and promote peace. He justly deserves all the accolades that he has received from both Nigerians and the international community for this. Certain persons and interest groups may not be happy that his profile has further risen and that his legacy is assured; but they do their country gross disservice when they act so unpatriotically.
Anyone who is engaged in imposing a crisis on the country by any means is not being fair to Nigeria. We can only appeal to the public to be wary of such reckless tactics now on display, which form the substance of an odd, malicious campaign after the elections.
We are particularly worried that since the March 28 and April 11 elections, some persons have continued to work very hard to diminish the Jonathan Presidency. They need to be reminded that the time for politics is over; it is now time to focus on the in-coming government, with emphasis on national development and moving the country forward.” He said.
