PDP: Claim CBN funded our 2015 campaign, tissue of lies

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), on Monday, dismissed the claim that the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) practically emptied its vault to finance its presidential campaign during the 2015 election.

Recall that an online medium, TheCable, at the weekend, quoting sources conversant with investigations into security spending in the last administration, reported that the apex bank practically emptied its vaults apparently to finance the 2015 presidential campaign of the PDP.

TheCable had earlier reported the extra-budgetary disbursement of N40 billion to the Office of the National Security Adviser (ONSA) and N20 billion to the Department of State Services (DSS) by the CBN, but said fresh revelations indicated that the monies were released in dollar cash — contrary to all money laundering regulations.

They were taken, according to TheCable, directly from the dollar reserve vaults of the apex bank.

Security sources, according to TheCable, disclosed that in August 2014, Godwin Emefiele, the CBN governor, called a board meeting and asked for an approval of N60 billion to support the security services under a “special security intervention fund” he intended to create.

Emefiele, who is also chairman of the board, told the members that the money was needed to equip the military to fight the insurgency in the north-east, following a series of onslaughts by Boko Haram.

Some board members reportedly cautioned him against such an audacious move, advising instead that the expenditure should be tied to procurement, but he was said to have rejected the advice.

This was shortly after he had secured approval from President Goodluck Jonathan to disburse the funds.
Sambo Dasuki, retired colonel and then NSA, had twice requested for N60 billion in documents seen by TheCable — and was only successful at third attempt following Jonathan’s intervention.

In the new documents seen by TheCable, the former NSA regularly wrote to Emefiele asking him to disburse the approved money in hard currency equivalent, usually in tranches of N10 billion.

Investigators have now traced some of the monies collected by the office of the NSA to the PDP presidential campaign, with Raymond Dokpesi, chairman of AIT, revealing that he collected N2.1 billion from the office to undertake media publicity for Jonathan, TheCable reported.

Dasuki has said not all the monies he received were for security, maintaining that some were for NGOs.
However, questions have been raised on how CBN created the security fund overnight to meet NSA’s requests.

Sources further told TheCable that it was common for the CBN to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars in cash to various agencies in government in the run-up to the general election.

For instance, in February 2015 — after the presidential elections were controversially postponed ostensibly to fight Boko Haram — the CBN took almost $300 million on the instructions of the National Petroleum Investment Management Services (NAPIMS) and passed it to the National Intelligence Agency (NIA).

Investigators are working with the theory that the money was used to finance PDP’s “final push” in the presidential election which it eventually lost to the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Reacting to the report by TheCable, the PDP, which is now in opposition, challenged anybody who says he paid money into its account to come forward and provide the evidence for such payments.

The acting National Publicity of the PDP, Hon. Bernard Mikko told The Daily Times in a telephone interview that the report was a mere speculation and a tissue of lies.

His words: “They are all lies. They are all speculations. Those making those claims should provide the evidence and receipts of those payments into the PDP account.

“The PDP account is subject to public scrutiny as well as auditing. Investigating agencies in the country should go and check the PDP account to verify the said claim.

“I challenge anybody who says he paid money into the PDP account to come forward and provide the receipts or proofs of such payment. I insist that they are all lies and they are all speculations”.

Mikko, a former member of the House of Representatives, pointed put that the fact that the PDP is not facing trial in the ongoing investigations by the anti-corruption agencies in the country indicated that the claim was just a tissue of lies and propaganda.