Probe How Your Party Spent Funds Raised For Its National Secretariat – PGF DG Tells New PDP Chairman

The Director-General of the Progressive Governors Forum, PGF, Salihu Lukman has called on the new National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Iyorchia Ayu to probe how past party leadership spent funds meant for the building of its national secretariat in Abuja.

Lukman in s statement on Monday said about N30 billion was raised for the project, while about N16 billion has been spent so far but the 12-storey PDP National Secretariat located on Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja has not been completed, and seems abandoned.

Though the PGF boss congratulated the PDP for the successful conduct of its National Convention, he said the probe of the funds for the party secretariat should be a major task before the party’s newly-elected executive body.

He said before the PDP can claim to be able to fix Nigeria, it must show it can fix its internal issues first by showing accountability.

He said: “It may be necessary to also request the newly elected leadership of PDP under Dr. Iyorchia Ayu to perhaps investigate the management of funds mobilised for the construction of the 12-storey PDP National Secretariat located on Muhammadu Buhari Way, Central Business District, Abuja, which is now abandoned as a demonstration of commitment to rescue Nigeria.

“Having mobilised close to N30 billion and expended over N16 billion, a born-again PDP leadership committed to rescuing Nigeria should be able to fix its internal problems first. Like it is often said, charity begins at home. A party that is committed to rescuing Nigeria should first and foremost rescue itself from its internal adversaries.”

“As much as it should be recognised that PDP was able to open itself to negotiation leading to the emergence of new leadership, to the extent that it failed to take advantage of the National Convention to simulate some internal negotiation within the party about how challenges facing the country should be responded to by a PDP government suggest absence of any commitment to work for a new Nigeria. May be as part of the efforts by the new PDP leadership to start a new beginning, they will initiate new processes of negotiating these issues.

“If that is to be the case, it will be necessary that the new PDP leaders take their bearing by taking responsibility in terms of honestly accepting their errors when they had the opportunity to rule Nigeria between 1999 and 2015. Anything short of that will expose the PDP and its leaders as being dishonest.”