Money Paid NWC Members Not Bribe But Housing Allowance – PDP

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, has denied it bribed some members of the National Working Committee of the party, saying the money they received was their housing allowances.

The party stated this in a statement issued on Thursday night by Debo Ologunagba, its National Publicity Secretary.

The statement described the report as a misrepresentation which alluded to a “strange and unfounded motives to the Housing Allowance duly approved and paid to NWC members and staff of the Party.”

Recall some members of the NWC returned various sums of money running to over N120 million to the party in letters addressed to the National Chairman of the party, Iyorchia Ayu.

Among those who returned the money were the National Vice Chairman (South-West) Olasoji Adagunodo, the Deputy National Chairman (South) Taofeek Arapaja; National Vice Chairman (South), Chief Dan Orbih and National Women Leader, Prof. Stella Affah-Attoe.

They claimed not to know why they were paid the money, adding they only got to know about it when they received alerts from their banks.

But Ologunagba maintained that, the “misleading report stemmed from an unfounded publication by a particular media outlet which suggested that the Housing Allowance, an entitlement duly approved and paid to national officials and staff of the Party amounted to bribery.

“For the avoidance of doubt, the PDP states in an unequivocal term that no funds were paid into the account of any member of the NWC as bribe for any purpose whatsoever for that matter.

“To set the record straight, the Housing Allowance being referred to went through the Due Process of the Party in line with the Conditions of Service and Entitlement of the Staff and Principal Officers of the Party,” the statement added.

It argued that, “If any individual, for any reason decides to return money duly approved and paid, such does not in any way suggest that the money was paid as bribe or indicate that it was illegitimate or unlawfully paid.

“A bribe is defined as ‘money or any other valuable consideration given or promised with a view to corrupting the behavior of a person especially in that person’s performance as a public official…’. This is not the case in the payment of Housing Allowance duly approved for officials and staff of the Party.

“The PDP therefore urges all members, teeming supporters and the general public to disregard the report and misleading insinuation which are clearly designed to malign the PDP, cause disaffection and distract our Party from our mission to Rescue, Rebuild and Redirect our nation from the misrule of the All Progressives Congress (APC),” the statement added.