LP received N595.9m from Nigerians, spent N744.5m on litigation, says Aisha Yesufu
Peter Obi, the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, in his reaction to the allegation of N3.5bn election funds against the party’s chairman, Julius Abure, demanded a thorough investigation into the matter.
Obi made the call at a media briefing where he rendered an account of the 2023 Obi-Datti Presidential campaign organisation funding on Thursday.
He said, “For the party (LP), I am a member of the party, and they have chosen to say that I am the leader. What we need to do in the party, and I have discussed it with the leadership, is that we must now appoint a reputable audit firm to audit and be able to deal with the account of the part.
“When I am involved in money, it must be transparent. So the allegations and counter allegations now must be thoroughly investigated and verified, and we would reconcile it and know what exactly to do,” Obi said.
The Informant247 reports that the National Working Committee (NWC) of the LP, on Wednesday, during a press conference in Abuja, slammed a six-month suspension on its embattled National Treasurer, Mrs Oluchi Oparah, following her accusations against Julius Abure.
Oparah had, on Monday, accused the LP National Chairman, Barrister Julius Abure, of mismanaging N3.5bn raised from the sale of nomination forms and fundraising activities in the build-up to the 2023 general election.
Also, on Tuesday, while speaking on Arise TV’s ‘Good Morning Show’, Oparah claimed that the Abure-led NWC is working hand-in-hand with the Edo State Government, which is governed by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
However, at the Wednesday media briefing, the National Publicity Secretary of LP, Mr Obiora Ifoh, described Oparah as a mole who was being used by dissidents to cause disaffection in the party, adding that the party decided to sanction after she failed to honour an invitation by the party’s NWC to resolve the crisis.
At Thursday’s briefing, Obi also appealed to various support groups or individuals or parties that received funding to support the campaign, for which they were grateful, to account to those they received it from.
He said, “Because there are some people, like support groups, there are some people even abroad who collected monies that they are going to use it in the north and everywhere. We were not stringent that everything you collect must come to us, but we want whatever is collected to be accounted for. This is why we are appealing to the public to let us know.”
LP received N595.9m from Nigerians, spent N744.5m on litigation, says Aisha Yesufu
Also speaking at the event, Mrs Aisha Yesufu, the Chairman of the Fundraising Team of the Campaign Organisation, said it spent over N744,500,000.00 in litigation in courts over the 2023 presidential election.
She also said that it received donations totalling N595,976,994.00.
“Accountability and transparency are very critical and important; that is why we asked people to donate so that we could come back to them to explain how their money was judiciously used. We thank everyone who donated in cash and kindness. From the donations from citizens, we received N595,976,994. This is the money we raised from the four accounts that we have talked about. We also received N8,000,000 from the candidate himself (Peter Obi).
“We designed a strategic blueprint focused on channeling the movement energy and support for Peter Obi and Datti Ahmed with different support groups. We provided direct and indirect support to over a hundred support groups across all 36 states in Nigeria.
“We also deployed media-related campaigns that reached over 11 million people, leveraging over 40 radio stations, community outreach, and social media.
“We would have loved to use Televisions and all of that, but because of our financial constraints, we were mindful of being judicious in our usage of the funds that we received.
“So, out of these things, campaign materials worth N258,374,330.00 were procured and distributed across the 36 States and also in Abuja. Media and radio broadcasting was at the cost of N16,432,867.00.
“For the election promotion expenses, we had N10,808,948.00. For Polling Unit Agents, we spent N324,381,700.00. And then, of course, we had bank charges of N1,750,544.00.
“We also had administrative charges of N477,000.00. We deployed N744,500,000.00 to cover legal expenses. And then, in campaign and election activities, we had over N28,500,000.00. On the issue of legal fees, remember what I said earlier: We had N800,000,000.00 that the candidate himself brought,” Yesufu said.
Back story:
Account for N3.5bn 2023 election funds – LP treasurer tells Abure
There’s a new crisis rocking a faction of the Labour Party led by Julius Abure after its National Treasurer, Oluchi Opara, demanded the accountability of about N3.5 billion in party finances.
Opara, who made this known during a news briefing in Abuja on Monday, said the finances were proceeds from the sales of forms and other fundraising activities for the 2023 general elections in the country.
Opara said, “With great reluctance and deep concern, I am compelled to publicly address the media regarding the egregious financial mismanagement and corruption that have plagued our beloved party under the leadership of Mr Julius Abure, the current National Chairman.
“As national treasurer, I am constrained to come before you and the public today because the internal mechanisms of our party have failed woefully to bring Mr Abure to account for his brazen abuse of office and misappropriation of party funds.
“His appetite for power has grown unchecked, and he has deliberately undermined my duties and authority as stipulated in the party’s constitution.”
Meanwhile, the Labour Party, while refuting the stance of the party’s treasurer, said the allegations were malicious and that Oparah was under some external influences, causing her to read out a “concocted statement drafted by detractors to tar the image of the party”.
The party, in a statement by its National Publicity Secretary, Obiora Ifoh, said, “The attention of the leadership of the party has been drawn to a news conference by our National Treasurer, Ms Oluchi Opara, where she raised several allegations against the National Chairman, Julius Abure, bothering more on corruption and abuse of office.
The statement read, “With the exception of the National Treasurer, whose tenure is about to end in a few weeks’ time, and who has served for eight years as National Treasurer without a single record of party accounts, no other member of the national working committee has raised any issue of embezzlement against out National Chairman who made a pledge on the assumption that the party has to be revamped.
“Evidence is our proactive outing in the 2023 general election as the party presented for the first time a very good presidential candidate.
“Let it be said that the Labour Party has not earned N3.5 billion as claimed and that the National Chairman has not embezzled any money that belongs to the party as alleged. The records are there, except that Ms Oluchi Opara doesn’t even understand simple accounting, even as a treasurer. The party engages an External Auditor, and our account is under constant scrutiny by INEC or other regulatory bodies,” the statement added.
The party stressed that Abure does not own several houses and property, as alleged by the National Treasurer, despite no law prohibiting him from owning properties.
“The constitution of the Labour Party in Article 14:1b provides that the National Chairman shall be the Accounting Officer of the party while 14:1d “Shall approve all expenditures and shall be a signatory to the Party’s Bank account(s).”
“Accordingly, Article 14: 6 states that the National Treasurer “Shall receive and promptly pay into the Party’s account(s) all monies received for and on behalf of the Party.
“Shall ensure the preparation of Annual Statement of Account/Reports on finances of the Party including compilation of the Party’s Assets and liabilities and make same available to the National Executive Council from time to time. Shall be a co-signatory to the Party Account(s).”
“These sections are clear as to the duty of the national chairman apart from providing leadership. The duty of the National Treasurer is also clearly spelled out.”
