PDP Crisis Gets Messier As NWC Members Return Suspicious Monies Paid To Them
THE crisis rocking the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) got messier on Thursday, September 29 over multimillion naira bribery scandal involving members of its National Working Committee (NWC), allegedly settled to support the embattled National Chairman, Dr. Iyorchia Ayu.
Ayu has been accused by the camp of Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike of mismanaging about N10billion realised from the sale of nomination forms for its elective political offices before the primary elections.
Some NWC members were reported to have been credited huge sums of money, ranging from N28million to N36million, depending on their offices. On Thursday, some of the members separately returned the money in cheques and transfers to the party purse.
They include the Deputy National Chairman (South), Ambassador Taofeek Arapaja, National Women Leader, Prof. Stella Effah-Attoe and National Vice Chairman (South-South), Chief Dan Orbih.
According to a report going viral on the net, Arapaja returned N36million paid to him, while Effah-Attoe and Orbih each returned N28 million, all claiming that the money paid to them from the party were suspicious.
Reports said the money was paid to them in the form of housing allowance.
There were also reports that the National Vice Chairman (Southeast), Dr. Alli Odefa; National Vice Chairman (Southwest), Olasoji Adagunobi-Oluwatukesi and Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo, may have also returned the monies paid out to them in similar manners.
The reports said the return of the money followed reports that the NWC members may have been settled to overlook allegations of the misappropriation of the N10billion raked in ahead of the party’s primaries.
