PDP LAWMAKERS SEEK PROBE INTO N1BN LAGOS CAMPAIGNE FUNDS

The lawmakers and candidates, who contested the Lagos State House of Assembly elections on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Wednesday asked the party’s national secretariat to probe alleged mismanagement of N1 billion campaign fund meant for 40 constituencies in the state.

It was gathered that the PDP campaign in Lagos State was separately coordinated by former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and former Deputy National Chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George without working together.

A credible source in the party chapter disclosed to THISDAY that the PDP national secretariat released at least N25 million to each of the 40 legislative constituencies in the state, thereby bringing it to a whopping sum of  N1billion naira.

But during an interview with THISDAY in office yesterday, the Minority Leader of Lagos State House of Assembly, Hon. Hakeem Bello, confirmed that all the candidates that contested the state legislative elections on the PDP platform had petitioned the party national secretariat.

Bello, currently representing Amuwo Odofin Constituency II in the eighth assembly, lamented that despite the money shared among the PDP candidates in the state during the last election, the candidates were not given a dime for the purpose of electioneering.

According to him, despite billions of naira disbursed by the PDP national secretariat to all the state chapters and campaign committees, we did not receive a dime to run for the state assembly election.

Bello explained that it was after the election we heard that funds were made available “to candidates of PDP running for the States House of Assembly election. But up till now, we are still begging if we can get our money back.”

He acknowledged that the forum of candidates that contested the state legislative election “had written series of petitions to both the PDP national secretariat and also to the state chairman. But up till now, we are yet to hear anything from them.

“I can tell you that we have not received a dime for the last campaign. We heard money was budgeted for it. They should come out and tell us what actually happened to the funds that were supposed to be given to the candidates who contested for the Lagos State House of Assembly seats.

“We have written to the party secretariat and they are working on it to see how they can get the funds back from those that embezzled it. We have done our investigation and gotten to the root of where the money got stocked because when we wrote to the national chairman we were referred back to the state chairman to collect our money,” the minority leader said.

But the minority leader ruled out insinuation in some quarters that the PDP lawmakers in the state planned to defect to the All Progressives Congress (APC), noting that there was no such plan by any lawmaker.

He also said the PDP lawmakers were not marginalised in the state assembly, adding that all the lawmakers across political leanings “are one big family. We are in the assembly to represent our people and go about the business of law making.”

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