APC rubbishes Atiku, PDP, says ex-Vice President’s wealth a mirage, 419 packaging; discloses both too broke to finance presidential election

*Nothing concerns you about us, PDP replies APC

Nabena noted that due to the stringent measures put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the opposition party was now in a dilemma on how to source funds to run the Atiku Presidential Campaign. Nabena in a statement alleged that available information from the PDP’s recent strategy meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, indicated that there was a major setback as the hope of sourcing campaign funds from public coffers was dashed.

The Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the  ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Mr. Yekini Nabena, has said that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and its presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar were at a crossroads on how to source funds for the 2019 electioneering campaign.

Nabena, who had earlier asked security agencies to investigate the circumstances surrounding the Dubai meeting of Atiku and the PDP, had also accused them of trying to use the said meeting to launder funds for the elections.

The PDP in reply warned the ruling APC to stop the “fixation” on its Presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar.

That is even as former President Goodluck Ebele Jonathan told Vice President Yemi Osinbajo to mind his alleged fraud cased said to have been pushed against him by PDP-controlled House of Representatives.

However, in apparent reaction to the purported search of Atiku’s aircraft by security operatives on his arrival from Dubai, Nabena noted that due to the stringent measures put in place by President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration, the opposition party was now in a dilemma on how to source funds to run the Atiku Presidential Campaign.

Nabena in a statement alleged that available information from the PDP’s recent strategy meeting in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, indicated that there was a major setback as the hope of sourcing campaign funds from public coffers was dashed.

He said: “The Presidential candidate expects the party to provide funds for his campaign. This is the Buhari Era, an era of strict accountability and transparency in the use and application of public funds and not the Jonathan Era in 2015 when the national treasury was opened to PDP leaders to prosecute the Presidential campaign.

“The party leaders are, therefore, in serious difficulty and dilemma on how to source funds to run the Atiku Presidential Campaign. Some financiers of the party expect that the candidate, having bought the ticket with millions of dollars should have the financial capacity to run his campaign. “With the candidate’s expectation that it is the party that will fund his campaign, it is now clear that they are at a crossroads and the chickens have come home to roost.

“The anti-corruption agencies should gird their loins and ensure that all sources of campaign funds by political parties are closely monitored and recover the funds looted during the Jonathan era. Such recovered funds should be applied for the benefit of the poor masses who were denied democracy dividends during the 16 years misrule of the PDP.

“It is now clear to the members of the PDP who were deceived into believing that their presidential candidate is a man of stupendous wealth that it is all a mirage, a 419 packaging and that they entered a ‘one chance’ bus.

“As we approach February 2019 when General Elections will be held in Nigeria, the electorate are becoming more conscious and aware of the deceitful nature of their so-called leaders. Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the Presidential Candidate of the PDP is nationally known as a man of immense wealth.

“Apart from his being a retired officer of the Department of Customs and Excise not above the rank of Deputy Director, and not known to have been an exceptionally successful businessman, his claims to stupendous wealth and sources are questionable and lack credibility.

“During the ‘dollar rain’ at the Port Harcourt Convention of the Party, he outspent all the other aspirants and easily clinched the party’s Presidential ticket. Having emerged without the support of the ‘Governor-General’ of the party, who had earlier produced the party’s National Chairman and ordered the party to hold its convention in Port Harcourt, Alhaji Atiku is now on ‘his own’ in bankrolling his campaign.

“The Nigerian Electorate has a better alternative- to stick to the clean, honest and transparent leadership of Muhammadu Buhari, who has done so much to ensure better future for them after the 16 years misrule of the PDP”, he added.