2019: 7 Parties Join PDP Merger Talks; Falae, Balarabe Musa, Others Names Filter

Seven political parties reportedly in merger negotiation with the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) ahead of 2019 general elections, News Punch understands.

The PDP leadership, last night, towards forming a formidable political front to capture power in 2019, met with leaders and selected delegates from the seven parties, report earlier published by New Telegraph says

Though names of the parties are yet to be disclosed, but our source revealed that that Labour Party (LP), Peoples Redemption Party (PRP) and Social Democratic Party (SDP) are among the parties PDP might be forging an alliance with.

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About two weeks ago, Chairman of the PDP Strategy Review and Interparty Affairs Committee, Prof. Jerry Gana, met with the SDP leader, Chief Olu Falae in Lagos.

The meeting might be in connection with the moves to merging with the SDP. At the submission of the committee’s final report to the PDP leadership yesterday, Gana announced that the initial contacts made by the committee “have yielded positive responses from seven people-focused and social democratic parties.”

He, however, said the meeting between the PDP National Caretaker Committee and leaders and selected delegates of the seven parties has “nothing to do with the rumoured mega party, but a separate and highly principled initiative of the PDP.”

According to Gana, “Our desire is to have all genuine democrats and friends of the people to flow together and provide a fresh and trustworthy leadership to promote and ensure a people-friendly process of national development.”

PDP National Publicity Secretary, Prince Dayo Adeyeye, confirmed the meeting later at a press conference.

A source, who confided in our correspondent yesterday, said that PDP and PRP met penultimate Saturday and have raised a six-man Contact Committee each, for further negotiations.

“Professor Jerry Gana will head the PDP six-man committee, while the National Leader of PRP, Alhaji Balarabe Musa will head his party’s team,” the source confided in New Telegraph.

Although details of the maiden meeting, which held in Abuja about 12 days ago, remain sketchy, the source said that PRP had insisted on an alliance and not a merger because it wants to maintain its unique pro-masses ideology.

When contacted, Balarabe, a former governor of Kaduna State, confirmed that a meeting between his party and PDP actually held, but didn’t divulge the details.

He, however, told New Telegraph that: “PDP has approached us even before the 2015 elections. And we had an understanding that in the event that they lose the presidential election, we will come together to strengthen democracy in Nigeria. That time, they will be in the opposition.”

The chairman, National Caretaker Committee of the PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, was specifically mandated to get across to Balarabe in order to sound him out on the possibility of working together.

It is still not clear what kind of alliance will exist between PDP and PRP, but another source said that the working relationship is aimed at making inroads in the North, the stronghold of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

“In spite of the failure of the APC-led government, the masses still love President Muhammadu Buhari. Balarabe and PRP are also very popular in the North, so we intend to slice into Buhari’s heartland,” he revealed.

PDP had maintained that it is not part of the rumoured mega party and does not want to change its name.

Meanwhile, the submission of the Gana report attracted many founding fathers of the party. Among PDP elders present at the occasion included former Minister of Finance, Mallam Adamu Ciroma; businessman, Chief Emmanuel Iwuanyanwu; former Jigawa State governor, Dr. Sule Lamido and Ambassador Aminu Wali.

Chairman of PDP, Senator Ahmed Makarfi, said the party’s leadership does not want to be distracted by the plan of people who want to make PDP remain irrelevant.

“We have been facing challenges. One of the ways evolved to hold PDP down and destroy opposition party in the country  was to tie us down and make us irrelevant by using the court to tie us down,” he added.

Makarfi said the party has realised its mistakes, which he stated include imposition of candidates and taking people for granted, which the report identified. He apologised on behalf of PDP leaders for these mistakes, and described the Gana report as “excellent”, which he added, would help in repositioning the PDP.

Ciroma, who felt elated at the gathering of members of the party since PDP lost the 2015 general elections, said he was convinced that the party is still alive.

“I feel very proud of being here. I feel proud of being involved with the PDP. I feel very proud of being one of the members who initiated the formation of this party.

And I can say today that the party is alive and well,” he said. Iwuanyanwu, who dismissed the report that he has left the PDP, described the Jerry Gana’s report as a very important milestone in the rebuilding process of the party.

Chief Olu Falae Arrested, Begged EFCC, Admitted He 'Stole' N40m From Jonathan's Largess

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, the EFCC has arrested and grilled former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, on his alleged role in the $15bn arms scam, Punch Newspaper published on Sunday

Falae was grilled by investigators at the commission’s office on Thursday.

According to our source, Falae, who was quizzed on Thursday by the anti-graft agency, had in February admitted to collecting N100m from a former Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party’s Board of Trustees, Chief Tony Anenih, during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.

The money was reportedly given to Falae to get his party, the SDP, to endorse the then President, Goodluck Jonathan, and campaign for him.

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However, the N100m was said to have emanated from the imprest account of the ONSA domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

The money, which Falae got was said to be part of the N3.145bn transferred from the account of the ONSA to the bank account of Joint Trust Dimensions Limited, a company allegedly owned by the Director of Finance of the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation, Senator Nenadi Usman.

On Anenih’s instruction, Usman was said to have transferred N100m into a UBA account titled Marecco Nigeria Limited with number 1000627022, which allegedly belongs to Falae.

Others who allegedly received part of the fund were a former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode (N840m) and two former ministers, Achike Udenwa and Viola Onwuliri, who jointly received N350m in two tranches.

An investigator at the anti-graft agency told our correspondent that Falae was grilled for several hours and then allowed to go home on the condition that he would return in the next two weeks.

The source said Falae admitted to receiving the fund but maintained that he did not know that the money emanated from the ONSA.

However, investigators were said to have rattled the 78-year-old elder statesman with fresh facts.

A detective said, “Chief Falae came to our office based on an invitation. He told us the story of how he received N100m based on the instruction of Anenih. However, our investigations revealed that Falae only transferred N60m to his party, SDP.

“The remaining N40m was personally withdrawn by him, which means it was not used for campaign. When he was confronted, he started appealing to us that he did not want to be detained or taken to court, so we told him to go and bring the N40m first.

“He said we should give him some time, so we have given him two weeks to go and bring the money and then report back to us.”

Asked if the EFCC was willing to charge Falae having frozen his account, the detective said, “Chief Falae, is a former Permanent Secretary and Minister of Finance. There is no way he would not have known that the deal was shady.

“If he really wanted to use the money for campaign, why didn’t he ask that the N100m be paid into the account of the SDP? Also, why didn’t he question the source of the fund when it did not emanate from the account of the PDP? Why did he keep N40m to himself?

“We are not victimising any political party or investigating the source of campaign funds. All we are doing is tracing the billions of dollars stolen from the ONSA account. Once you return the money, you will have no problem.”

Falae, while admitting in February that he collected N100m, had said, “It is true that N100m was given to my party to endorse and work for (former President Goodluck Jonathan’s candidature in the 2015 election. We used the money for that purpose and we effectively campaigned for the PDP since we did not have presidential candidate in the election. The money was not for me.

“With all the money PDP has and having spent 16 years in power, how would I have known that the money was from the arms deal? No reference was made to the arms deal. So, they should not bring me into the arms issue.”

Falae, while speaking to one of our correspondents on Saturday confirmed that he was invited by the EFCC. The elder statesman said he told the anti-graft agency that he didn’t collect any money from Dasuki.

He said, “It is true that I was invited by the EFCC and during the interrogation I told them that I didn’t collect money from Dasuki; that the money given to my party through Chief Tony Anenih was not given to me personally but to my party, the SDP.

“I also told them that the money was mainly used for the election. I told them it was an inter-party arrangement between our party and the PDP and the money was spent on the election. I didn’t know where the PDP got their money from, it was not my business but the money given to us had been spent on the election.

“I explained to them exactly what I said in my interview in the newspapers.”

He, however, declined comment on whether or not he was asked to come back to the EFCC for further interrogation.

#Dasukigate: Fani-Kayode Detained, Olu Falae's Account Frozen

Contrary to earlier media reports that Chief Fani Fani-Kayode has been granted administrative bail by the Economic and Financial Crime Commission over his involvement in N840m campaign fund, fresh report according to Punch Newspaper suggests the former Minister for Aviation is still in detention. He is said to  still being detained to aid further investigation, our source says.

Sources at the EFCC told our source that the sole aim of the investigation was to recover the funds.

Usman, who served as the director of finance of the campaign organisation, had returned some funds to the Federal Government and also forfeited two properties in Abuja.

A reliable source at the EFCC said, “Nenadi Usman cooperated with us and returned funds. Fani-Kayode must also do the same. We need our money back.”

Others who received parts of the N4bn include: The Goodluck Support Group headed by Prof. Rufai Alkali (N320m) while N340m was jointly received by a former Governor of Imo State, Achike Udenwa; and a former Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, Viola Onwuliri.

Meanwhile, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has frozen the bank account of a company belonging to a former Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Chief Olu Falae, Punch Newspaper reports

It was gathered  that the account with the United Bank for Africa titled Marecco Nigeria Limited with number 1000627022, was frozen as part of investigations into the N4bn disbursed by the Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Organisation during the build-up to the 2015 presidential election.

This is just as the EFCC detained a former Minister of Aviation, Chief Femi Fani-Kayode, on Monday for receiving N840m from the campaign funds. The ex-minister, who arrived at  the EFCC headquarters  at 9.45am was still being quizzed as of 8.40pm.

Both Falae and Fani-Kayode were accused of receiving N940m from the Director of Finance of the campaign organisation, Senator Nenadi Usman, during the build-up to the election.

The money was said to have emanated from the account of the National Security Adviser which is domiciled in the Central Bank of Nigeria.

While Falae, who was the Chairman of the Social Democratic Party, collected N100m on behalf of his party, Fani-Kayode received N840m as the spokesman for the campaign organisation.

A former Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the PDP, Chief Tony Anenih, who played an advisory role in the PDP presidential campaign, was said to have given instructions that N100m should be paid to Falae.

However, both Fani-Kayode and Falae have said they never knew that the money received was government’s.

Falae had said, “It is true that N100m was given to my party to endorse and work for Jonathan candidacy in the 2015 presidential election. We used the money for that purpose and we effectively campaigned for the PDP since we did not have a presidential candidate in the election. The money was not for me.

“Thank God, I’m a retired civil servant. I have all the documents to prove all that transpired between the two parties. With all the money the PDP has and having spent 16 years in power, how would I have known that the money was from the arms deal? No reference was made to the arms deal. So, they should not bring me into the arms issue.”

Fani-Kayode had also told our correspondent that the PDP leadership gave him the impression that the money was sourced from private individuals.

He said, “I served as the director of publicity of the Jonathan campaign organisation and I was told to set up an account for the directorate, which I did. I never received money from the CBN but like all the other directors, we received money from the director of finance.

“I was assured that the funds were not public funds but were sourced from private individuals. I never knowingly spent government money all through. The money was spent specifically on the campaigns. The accounts were audited and we were commended by the President.”

Fani-Kayode 'On The Run', 'Tip-toed' Into Hiding Over N2.5b Fraud

The Economic and Financial Crime Commission, the EFCC has launched a manhunt for a former Aviation Minister Mr. Femi Fani-Kayode, who “has refused to report to the agency for interaction”, an EFCC source told The Nation Newspaper

“All attempts by our operatives to locate the whereabouts  of Mr. Fani-Kayode have failed because he has not only switched off his phones, he has virtually gone underground,” the source said, adding: “We will fish him out wherever he is. Having been watch-listed by the EFCC,  he cannot hide for long .”

Fani-Kayode is rated as “the chief beneficiary” of the disbursement of the slush funds as he allegedly received N840million, paid in three tranches into his Zenith Bank, Maitama branch account with No.1004735721.

The EFCC source gave the details of the transactions from Mrs Usman company’s accounts to Fani-Kayode and others.

The source said: “The first tranche of payment involving N350million hit the account on February 19, 2015. Another N250milion was also paid into the account on February19, 2015 while N240million was similarly credited to the account a month later; precisely March 19, 2015.

“The balance on this account as at 31st December, 2015 was N189, 402.72.”

The Goodluck Support Group allegedly received N320million

Falae allegedly received N100m through Marreco Limited, a company in which he is listed as chairman. The fund was credited into the company’s United Bank for Africa Plc account No. 1000627022 on March 25, 2014. The former Secretary to the Government of the Federation has denied any wrongdoing.

“Both Achike Udenwa and Viola Onwuliri got N350million in two tranches. The first tranche of N150million was paid into their joint account with Zenith Bank on January 13, 2015. The second tranche of N200miilion was credited into their account with Diamond Bank,” the source said, pleading not to be named because he is not permitted to talk to the media.

Okey Ezenwa is believed to have received N100million.

Fani-Kayode has said that he got the cash for campaign purposes and that he rendered and account of how it was spent. He never knew the source of the cash, he said.

Udenwa said: “The money was disbursed with approval from the presidential campaign headquarters. It was not paid into my personal account.”

So Our Ladies Are Rogues, By Goke Butika

"Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren't,"---Margaret Thatcher

I have always known that the embezzled arms funds allegedly misused by Ibrahim Dasuki would be more than two billion dollars, and I am least shocked that the figure has risen to 15 billion dollars aside from four billion naira the central bank handed over to the personal guard of the former President Goodluck Jonathan for the prosecution of presidential primary election of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) pre- 2015 general election.

Hmmm! There is always wisdom in the axiom that, "what a man does, a woman can do better," going by the way and manner Mrs. Nnadi Usman, a Senator of the seventh Senate and former Minister of Finance was used as the conduit pipe to fleece this country that paid her so much for doing little. While she was caught "pant down" in stealing spree, she quickly cooperated with Economic and Financial Crime Commission (EFCC) and sang like parrot before she returned N23 million liquid cash under her pillow, and promised to return more as long as she is able to dispose some of her properties.

Already, two luxurious mansions in Abuja highbrow had been seized and she was willing, according to a news report to offer more properties to leverage her prosecution and administrative bail, because according to her, she is contending with health challenges. What a primitive acquisition of wealth.

By marriage, Nnadi Usman is a Muslim and Hausa man's wife. Another striking news was that of Diezani Madueke, the erstwhile czar of petroleum resources under Jonathan was said to have her two million British pound wrist watch seized by the foreign security operative in United Kingdom. Oh, you are also wondering who a sane person would want to impress with that kind of wristwatch? Anyway, it is another way of keeping money. By marriage and birth, Diezani is a Christian of Igbo extraction.

In a related development, the wife of the former Chief of Naval staff, under the watch of Jonathan, Air Vice Marshal Adesola Amosu was said to have acted a front for her husband, as the anti-graft agency traced two billion naira to her account apart from one million dollars the security operatives unearthed from their soak away. By birth and marriage, Kemi Amosu is of Yoruba stock. The import of this is that roguery is not peculiar with ethnic or religious boundaries.

Mrs. Usman did a yeoman job during the last election for her party, PDP. As she took the custody of her billions of naira from the arms deal on the instruction of Jonathan, she began to do "justice" to the largess by dishing out N840 million to that loquacious turn-coat, Femi Fani Kayode, Morally bankrupt Ondo chief, Olu Falae and others. No wonder, Fani-Kayode threw his life into the struggle for "Jonathan must continue"; he deployed all indecent arsenals against candidate Buhari, he called the APC leaders names, he unleashed all high sounding words laced with British accent on whoever called for logical debates on governance. Aftermath, he began to celebrate his new model range rover SUV, he showcased his thoroughly toned skin girlfriend, but quietly went underground when Jonathan was thrown out of his job.

Hennhenn! The abductors of Olu Falae must have known he got N100 million from arms deal, before demanding exact amount from his family as ransom, but the man was so secretive that he elected not to inform his family and his group, compromised Afenifere whose past time is to criticize government until it is invited to a negotiation table on parochial interest.

As if he had done no wrong, the so called Yoruba leader, Falae said he did not collect money from Dasuki but Chief Tony Anenih, as if Anenih is Dangote, as if Anenih was not the chairman of the Board of PDP, but he chose his narrative to trivialize the issue, unknown to him that people are not impressed with his story.

Besides, are you provoked by the seeming madness of some women of power? Oh, you cannot fathom why a person would use two million British pounds wrist watch, while her kinsmen and women are wallowing in abject poverty. You can not simply comprehend why a mortal would be comfortable wearing two million pound English gold jewelry, while her countrymen could not receive monthly salaries. That was inanities the men and women of yesterday spent Nigerian fortune on.

Quite pathetic, some groups abroad were decorating Goodluck Jonathan who dragged Nigeria to this sorry state, because he handed over to his successor who resoundingly beat him at the last general election, even some of our clerics want us to forgive Jonathan for finding courage to handover at all. What a country!

The long and short story is that, yes, there was global economic challenge as a result of perpetual permutation in dynamics of economics , but Nigeria's case is largely on mismanagement of resources and perennial leadership failure. We had lost fortune to stealing perpetrated by very few individuals, thousands of innocent people were hurriedly dispatched to their shallow graves based on the sharing of funds meant for the military equipment to fight terrorism. And when the former Central Bank Governor now Emir of Kano, Sanusi Lamido Sanusi said over N48 billion could not be accounted for, Jonathan and his economic witches cried blue murder; Jonathan even said in Lagos that if such amount was missing America would know because it is its money.

Today, cat is gradually coming out of the bag. Please, blame Buhari for all the woes of the country, after all he threw his hat into the ring for it, but please evaluate the rot very well and convince yourself on where the blame should be placed.

Butikakuro is an intercontinental journalist.