APC Chieftain Faults El-rufai on Atiku’s contribution to 2015 Election Campaign …Says governor a pathological liar

A chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Comrade Timi Frank, has faulted the claim by the Kaduna State governor, Mallam Nasir El-rufai that the former vice president Atiku Abubakar did not make a tangible contribution to the 2015 presidential campaign of the ruling party.

He described the governor as a pathological liar whose statement is “a height of ingratitude of a jilted lover.”

Mallam Nasir El-rufai, was said to have made the statement in an interview he granted on Voice of America (VOA) Hausa Service Programme, “Democracy Today”, monitored in Kaduna, in which he challenged Atiku to state categorically, his contributions, including how much he gave the party and what the money was used for.

The governor was quoted to have said that: “For me, I know those that supported us with their money and property that we used during the election, and I never heard the name of Atiku that he brought a dime. If Atiku said he brought money, who did he give it to? Let him come and say it and how much did he give and what was it used for?

“And, in fact, if Atiku brought money, I ought to know, because I was part of the leadership of the party and during the campaign, along with former Governor Rotimi Amaechi. We were at the centre of the presidential campaign. Therefore, we are supposed to know. So, let him mention who he gave the money and how much?”

Reacting to the claim in a statement on Thursday in Abuja, Comrade Frank, the APC National Deputy Publicity Secretary urged the governor to refresh his memory by watching the campaign video or meet the then Director General of APC Presidential Campaign Council, Rotimi Ameachi, for the record of what transpired before, during and after the campaign in 2015.

Comrade Frank said: “Ameachi has a record of those who contributed to the campaign, so if El-rufai does not know he should contact the Minister of Transportation. Moreover, it is on record that the former vice president had responsibility for seven states during the campaign.

“Again, it is also on record that Atiku’s media asset was transferred to the campaign. If El-rufai has forgotten so soon, the Director of Media APC Presidential Campaign Council, Mallam Garba Shehu, who is now the spokesman to the President, was handed over to the party campaign team from Atiku Media office, the deputy director of Atiku media team Mr. Paul Ibe was also part of APC media team during the 2015 campaign and other key members of Atiku’s group. I don’t know how El-rufai will quantify the cost?

“Moreover, President Muhammadu Buhari, as a President-elect himself acknowledged the role these people played as a group when he met with them at the Defence House in Abuja, which significantly, the role Atiku Media office played cannot be removed.”

The APC chieftain while reminding governor El-rufai of what the wife of the President said that some of those who made contributions to the success of APC in 2015 election were not rewarded, asked the governor to justify his claim on Atiku.

While urging Mr. El-rufai “to stop his political sycophantic act toward President Buhari,” Frank also urged the President to study El-rufai’s antecedent in politics and how the Kaduna Governor has constantly betrayed all his benefactors in the past.

He said: “I wonder how Mr. El-rufai could easily contradict himself in a short while. Late last year, the same governor wrote an open letter to the president where he mentioned Atiku Abubakar as one of the leaders of APC the President had abandoned, so what has happened to his memory? He asked.