The leadership crisis in the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, assumed a new twist, yesterday, following revelations by its National Vice Chairman (North-West), Salihu Moh. Lukman, that the National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, willfully refused to extend financial support to President Bola Tinubu and all candidates of the party in the lead-up to the 2023 general election.

At a briefing in Abuja, Lukman, who has been vociferous in asking Adamu to render a financial account of the party, noted that the party made over N30 billion from the sale of forms, yet it never supported any of its candidates.

Lukman was reacting to two separate television interviews granted by Adamu and the National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, in which the two chieftains accused him of being a nonentity and black sheep in the party.

His words: “We are expected to present a proposed national budget to the National Executive Committee, NEC, for approval by the provisions of Article 13(3A)(14) of the APC constitution.

‘’I felt embarrassed when I heard the National Secretary (Omisore) say the budget of the party has been sent to the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC.

‘’INEC is not the approving authority of the budget of the APC. The approving authority is the NEC. Till today, we don’t have a national budget. Yet we made over N30 billion from sales of forms.

‘’Till date, as a member of the NWC and majority members of the NWC, maybe except for the Financial Secretary, Treasurer and or the Auditor, who may have inside knowledge of how much was expended on the renovation of the national secretariat of the party, we do not know what is being expended.

Question of funding not addressed

“Talking of national budget, we are just coming out of elections where we were not able to sustain past precedence. What was the past precedence? Under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole in 2019, every candidate of the party received something from the national secretariat.

‘’In the last election, no candidate of the party received a dime from the party. Talking of finances, in our constitution, the NEC is supposed to approve some form of sharing formula.

‘’I am aware that each state chapter has received about N20 million out of the N30 billion. Put together, that is about N700 million, less than a billion, which is less than three per cent of the income earned.

‘’Yet we want to sweep this under the carpet. We are having states, zonal, local councils and ward levels, who are left on their own. The whole question of funding of the party has not been addressed.”

Adamu starved Tinubu, APC candidates of funds during polls

Asked whether any such support was extended to then-candidate, Tinubu, the party chieftain said: “He (Tinubu) didn’t get a dime from the party. I am making this public. Let them challenge and contradict me.”

He said when former President Muhammadu Buhari was the party’s standard bearer in 2015 and 2019, he got some level of support from the party.

“Look, in 2015, the party was truly a model party. President Buhari didn’t have money. People were assigned responsibilities to raise money. It is just like Asiwaju and you say Asiwaju has money.

‘’So there were people assigned with the responsibility of mobilizing money for the party. If anything was done in 2023 based on that, it would be the initiative of Asiwaju. I am not aware of it as a party.”

Fatal failure

Describing Omisore as a phenomenal failure, Lukman challenged the national secretary to be humble in accepting the defeat of the party in his Osun State.

He said: “Osun State was a disaster and that is where the national secretary comes from. I saw him yesterday (Tuesday) shamelessly talking about a winning team.

‘’If we are a winning team, why prevent us from replicating the feat in your base? We did not only lose the governorship seat, we lost all the Senate, House of Representatives and House of Assembly seats.”

Omisore had in the television interviews said Lukman was acting alone in the 25-member NWC.

On allegations of internal wrangling within the APC, Omisore said: “We are not aware of any internal wrangling within the APC. It is the imagination of people. We have moved far from that; the issue of Senator Abdullahi Adamu supporting somebody is an old issue.

‘’They are just trying to play the old game. Basically, everybody is working together as one.”

We won’t take sides —Osun APC

Reacting to the allegations that some state chapters were starved of funds during the 2023 general elections, the chairman of APC in Osun State, Tajudeen Lawal, said he wouldn’t take sides with anyone but with the constitution of the party.

Lawal, in a statement by its Media Director, Kola Olabisi, said: “In Osun State, we are watching the development closely. But it is not in our character to take sides on critical party issues like the one between the national chairman and his deputy, Lukman.

“It will, however, be of no use to jump the gun. We will wait for the NEC meeting before taking a further stance on the matter.” (Vanguard)

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