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The Peoples Democratic Party lawmakers and candidates who vied for the Lagos state House of Assembly seats during the last general elections have requested the party’s national secretariat on Wednesday, September 9, to probe into the alleged mismanagement of N1 billion campaign fund meant for forty constituencies in the state.
This Day reports that the PDP campaign in Lagos state was separately coordinated by former minister of state for foreign affairs, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro and former deputy national chairman of the party, Chief Olabode George without working together.
Reports have it that the PDP national secretariat had released at least N25 million to each of the 40 legislative constituencies for campaigns in the state ahead of the last elections.
However, the minority leader of the state House of Assembly, Honourable Hakeem Bello confirmed in an interview he granted This Day that all the candidates that contested the state legislative elections on the platform of the former ruling party had petitioned the party national secretariat. He said that the PDP lawmakers in Lagos are seeking the prompt probe into how the fund was used.
Expressing his grief, the leader said that no candidate was given any money for the purpose of electioneering despite all the billions that were disbursed to all the PDP state chapters and subsequently shared among the party candidates in the state during the last election.
Bello said: “It was after the election we heard that funds were made available to candidates of PDP running for the states House of Assembly election. But up till now, we are still begging if we can get our money back.
“The forum of candidates that contested the state legislative election had written series of petitions to both the PDP national secretariat and also to the state chairman. But up till now, we are yet to hear anything from them.
“I can tell you that we have not received a dime for the last campaign. We heard money was budgeted for it. They should come out and tell us what actually happened to the funds that were supposed to be given to the candidates who contested for the Lagos State House of Assembly seats.
“We have written to the party secretariat and they are working on it to see how they can get the funds back from those that embezzled it. We have done our investigation and gotten to the root of where the money got stocked because when we wrote to the national chairman we were referred back to the state chairman to collect our money.”
Meanwhile, Bode George had called for the expulsion of Obanikoro and his croniesfor allegedly causing disaffection within the Lagos state chapter of the party during the campaigns.
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