2019 Election: Diversion of N2.5 billion campaign funds sabotages APC’s success in Adamawa
…as party exco mulls vote of no confidence on party chairman
By Usman Abdullahi
The Adamawa State chapter of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), is engulfed in fresh crisis, following alleged disagreement and lopsided distribution of campaign funds, allocated to the state by the Presidential Campaign Organisation.
A reliable source in APC confided in our reporter that the failure of some party chieftains to evenly distribute the funds for the purpose of winning the presidential election was responsible for the defeat of president Buhari by the major presidential contender, Atiku Abubakar of PDP who is a son of the state.
The source confided in our reporter that the sum of N2.5 billion was allocated to the state through a top government appointee of president Buhari who also lost his local government council area to the opposition.
The fund was for the purpose of mobilizing support and logistics for the conduct of the elections.
Instead of the party officials to disburse the logistics to other important stakeholders, they allegedly sat on the funds which made stakeholders to adopt a lethargic posture to the success of the president during the election.
The development which has been causing ripples in the party, reportedly led to moves by aggrieved party members to mull the impeachment of the party chairman, Alhaji Ibrahim Bilal Moda, whom they suspected of being behind the mismanagement of the logistics.
But the party chairman who was himself allegedly schemed out of the distribution of the logistics shunned the election.
A source close to the chairman confided in our reporter that Bilal who hails from Michika left Yola for Mubi but failed to go to his polling unit in Michika to cast his votes because of logistics challenge.
The source said most of the stakeholders like the SGF, Boss Mustapha, General Buba Marwa, Dr. Idi Hong, the chairman of NDLEA, Muhammad Mustapha Abdallah, senator Moallahyidi and senator Binta Masi Garba lost in their local governments.
The APC has been embroiled in an intractable intra party imbroglio that divides the party into many factions.
Only a few days to the election, a top party functionary, Dr.Mahmud Halilu Ahmed (Modi), accused governor Muhammad Umar Jibrilla Bindow of working in favour of the opposition political party.
Responding to the issue, the commissioner of Information and strategy, Mallam Ahmed Sajoh said the crisis in the party was caused by those who took governor Bindow as an enemy.
He added that the party stalwarts deliberately sabotaged the party, leading to its defeat in some areas so as to turn Bindow to a scape goat.
Also responding, the publicity secretary of the party, Ahmed Lawal said the party lost the election as a result of the internal party wrangling culminating in some party stalwarts to openly campaign against the election of others.
‘’The party was seriously concerned about the attitude of some party members who openly reject some candidates of the party. Any party member found wanton will be sanctioned according to extant constitutional provisions,’’ he said.
(Culled from Newshawk)