Court Sets To Begin Hearing of Case On PDP’s Campaign Debt

Posted by African Examiner Featured, Latest Headlines, National News, News, Politics Tuesday, June 23rd, 2015

By Ayo Balogun – The Chief Judge of the FCT High Court has assigned to court No. 37 in Kuje a suit in respect of which the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Director-General of Presidential Campaign Organization, Ahmadu Ali, and a former Minister of Finance and Director of Finance of President Goodluck Jonathan’s Presidential Campaign Organization, Senator Nenadi Usman were sued over their alleged refusal to pay for services rendered by a company.

The company was duly engaged and commissioned to broadcast a campaign message for Dr. Goodluck Jonathan before the last presidential election.

The company, Silon Concepts Limited, in a suit filed before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) alleged that the PDP, Ahmadu Ali and former Finance Minister, Senator Nenadi Usman, who served as the Director-General and Director of Finance in ex-President Jonathan’s campaign organization respectively, have refused to pay an outstanding N70 million balance for a campaign contract awarded it by the PDP Presidential campaign organization.

The company averred that it was engaged to provide “voice SMS campaign broadcast,” of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan campaign message which it sent to eligible voters on behalf of the PDP’s presidential candidate, former President Jonathan before the March 28, 2015 presidential poll.

The plaintiff (Silon Concepts ltd) through Festus Keyamo Chambers stated that the defendants were unwilling to pay the N70m balance of the N100m contract sum, which the PDP PCO committed in writing to pay.

It urged the court to, among others compel the defendants to pay the outstanding sum of N70m and N15m as the cost of the suit plus an annual interest rate of 10 per cent on the sum of N70m until the said sum is fully liquidated.

Silon claimed, in its originating processes, that it was commissioned by the PDP, through PDP PCO, and agreed to pay it N100m as seed money to kick start a contract of sending ‘Voice SMS campaign broadcast’ to eligible voters as part of the campaign for the party’s presidential candidate. It claimed that it successfully executed the project with continued assurance from the defendants that the balance would be made available in no distant time.

The plaintiff, stated in a statement of claim that the PDP only paid N20m as initial payment instead of seed money of N100m to kick start the project as agreed and that the ex-Finance Minister, Senator Nenadi Usman paid the N20m through a Zenith bank cheque in the name of a company, Jointrust Dimension Nigeria Limited with account number 1010740698, whose account Senator Usman serves as the sole signatory.

The plaintiff stated that the PDP had agreed to pay the full balance for the contract to it before the election as the party’s/contract letter of March 5, 2015 stated. It added that following consistent demand for payment and meetings with other directors of PDP PCO, the PDP only issued a cheque of N10m to his company on May 19, 2015, leaving a balance of N70m and promised to pay it in few days’ time.

But since then Senator Nenadi Usman and her colleagues in PDPPCO have disappeared with the balance. A demand letter written on behalf of the plaintiff by Festus Keyamo Chambers to defendants on 25th May 2015 was also ignored.

The defendants have been served the writs of summons since 16th June, 2015 by the court bailiff. The matter is scheduled to come up for mention on the 6^th of July, 2015.