APC Denies Kidnap Kingpin, Wadume’s Claim On N13m Campaign Fund

The claim by suspected kidnap kingpin, Hamisu Bala Wadume, that the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) gave him N13 million has been refuted by the party.

Wadume was said to have stated in his confession that the APC gave him N13 million during the 2019 general election for campaign.

“I went into crime after some politicians approached me through a friend, Babaginda Musa. My friend was into fishing too. I was introduced into politics by Honourable Haruna Maintable, who contested for the state house of assembly during the 2015 general elections,” media reports quoted Wadume to have allegedly told detectives interrogating him.

“He gave me vehicle and I campaigned for him. He won and later gave me N300, 000 and the vehicle we used in the campaign.

“I was also given N13 million by the All Progressives Congress (APC) to pursue the 2019 presidential election. I spent only N7 million,” he said. 

But reacting on Saturday, National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Lanre Issa-Onilu, denied that the ruling ever had anything to do the suspect.

Issa-Onilu challenged Wadume to name those he claimed gave him the said sum.

“It is expected that the alleged kidnapper, having come face to face with justice, would throw whatever he could lay his hands on into the fray,” said the APC spokesman.

“In any case, our party did not have budget for thugs. Unlike the period when the ruling party dipped hands into the public treasury to fund political campaigns and elections, APC had to rely on its own resources.

“Even if we had all the money, we would never allocate money for kidnappers and murderers. That era ended with PDP.

“Perhaps, he can name whoever gave him money. Definitely, it was not APC,” he said.