The National Vice Chairman, North West, of the All Progressives Congress, Salihu Moh. Lukman, has accused the party’s National Chairman, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, of starving candidates of the party, including President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of funds for the prosecution of the general election.
The National Vice Chairman levelled the allegations against the National Chairman at a news briefing in Abuja.
At the briefing on Wednesday, Lukman responded to the position of Adamu and the National Secretary of the party, Senator Iyiola Omisore, in separate interviews earlier in the week.
He said despite the fact that the party made over N30 billion from the sale of forms for the general election, it never supported any of its candidates.
He said: ““We are expected to present a proposed national budget to the National Executive Committee 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 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 sale 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.
“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.
“He (Tinubu) didn’t get a dime from the party.
“I am making this public.
“Let them challenge and contradict me.”
Lukman 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.
He added: “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 mobilising 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.”
Lukamn, who described Omisore as a phenomenal failure, told him 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.”
