2019: ADC Accuses APC of Inducing Oppositions With N50m

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, News Thursday, July 19th, 2018

…Provide Your Evidence, APC Challenges

ABUJA, NIGERIA (AFRICAN EXAMINER) – The opposition African Democratic Congress ADC has alleged that the ruling All Progressives Congress APC as well as President Muhammadu Buhari team are inducing the oppositions with the sum of N50m to shift position.

ADC National Chairman Ralphs Nwosu said this Wednesday in his welcome address at a meeting between him and a team of officials of the National Democratic Institute and International Republican Institute at the party’s headquarters in Abuja.

Nwosu claimed that the NDI and IRI team made Nigeria’s democracy appreciative since 1999; noting that the country had had a successful transition at the expiration of tenure every four years.

He described the decision of immediate past President Goodluck Jonathan to accept defeat and congratulate his opponent even before the final announcement of the Presidential election results was made as “a hallmark performance” of the successes recorded within the period.

“However, the events of the last three years seem to be undermining all the gains.

“In terms of elections, the bye-election in Rivers State turned the territory to a police state and a battlefield until the government of President Buhari, working with relevant agencies of the state, got the ‘hacked’ result they wanted.

“Despite the poverty in the land, the ruling party and government have unlimited budget for bribing the electorate, electoral bodies and causing mischief.

“The APC and President Buhari’s team are presently sharing N50m to members of the opposition parties in an attempt to cause crises within the parties. I heard that they have upped that of ADC to N100m, but they will fail’’ the APC Chieftain claimed.

The ADC, which he recalled had been adopted by the former President Olusegun Obasanjo-led coalition and other groups, he claimed had a membership of 6.5 million persons.

Also, Nwosu claimed ADC was a grassroots party which according to him had registered about 1.2 million fee-paying members within the last three months with close to 10 million persons waiting to be registered.

Speaking at the meeting, the head of the visiting team, Mr. Christopher Fomunyoh, also the Regional Director, Central and West Africa of the NDI, confirmed that the team was in Nigeria to assess the country’s level of preparedness for next year general elections.

“We are currently visiting Nigeria to assess the level of preparations for the 2019 elections.

“It is our tradition to meet with all major stakeholders focusing on the electoral process. We also came to see what opportunities exist for future engagements’’ the head of delegation, Fomunyoh restated.

In response to ADC’s allegations, the APC challenged the party and its national chairman to provide evidence of such an offer instead of making baseless allegations capable of soiling the nation’s image.

While responding to the ADC’s allegations, the APC National Publicity Secretary Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, replied in a telephone interview with The Punch, in Abuja, said “It is unfortunate that some Nigerians would think that they are playing opposition politics by making wild allegations before international organisations, that’s quite unfortunate.

“These individuals making these wild allegations cannot give you one shred of evidence to back their claims. Let them name the person or persons that made them such an offer.

“At least, they must be able to name a person who is offering money to cause trouble within them. If you can go as far as making allegations that have far-reaching implications on the reputation of your country, if that means anything to you at all, he should be bold enough to back it up with evidence.”