Following the defeat suffered by President Goodluck
Jonathan and his party, the Peoples Democratic
Party, during the March 28 and April 11 elections,
the President has asked the party and government
officials who handled campaign funds to refund
monies not spent, or those not judiciously expended,
SUNDAY PUNCH can authoritatively report.
Jonathan, credible sources said, has also set up a
committee of five to get those with the funds to
return them.
Sources within the party and government told our
correspondents that President Jonathan was
disturbed that despite giving campaign coordinators,
ministers, special advisers, close aides and friends,
support groups and traditional rulers over N2trn in
cash, most of them could not deliver their polling
booths and local governments.
The President was said to have been further irked by
the results of an investigation he ordered. The probe
showed that some coordinators used campaign funds
to buy very expensive properties, especially in
Abuja, and luxury cars. Some of the funds have also
been traced to the bank accounts of senior party and
government officials who were charged with the
disbursement of funds to voters and groups.
A reliable source within the Presidency told our
correspondents that one of the President, who
recently admitted to a few close aides that it would
be difficult to retrieve all the funds, was bent on
getting senior party and government officials who
received funds to account for all monies collected.
The source who is a close associate of the president
said monies given to traditional rulers in different
parts of the country, for example, would not be
demanded for. But the source was quick to add that
the President was determined to get his ministers,
close aides and special advisers to make refunds.
He said, “Some ministers did not get less than N20bn
each. None of them can deny it because this fact isn’t
hidden within government circles. The only problem
with such monies is that there is no receipt to show
that they collected money. The sad part is that
almost all of them performed woefully. Even in the
states where the PDP won, some ministers could not
deliver 100,000 votes. They could not mobilise their
people to come out. The President is not happy. They
all went property and car shopping. This was the
most expensive election in the history of this
country, yet there was no result.
“The sad part was that even after the President lost
on March 28, more money was given to all of them
to make up for the dismal outing by winning their
states during the April 11 elections. But that turned
out to be a bad decision because apart from losing
the governorship election, we didn’t perform well at
the National Assembly and House of Representatives
polls.
“They must give an account of the money since they
didn’t use it for the election. The President is not
particular about the funds spent on genuine
campaign needs like the hiring of jets,
advertisements and the rest that also cost billions of
naira. His focus is on the individuals that collected
billions to deliver their states but couldn’t even win
their polling booths.”
Our correspondents gathered that apart from the
N20bn given to some key ministers and senior
special advisers, especially in states where the PDP
hoped to capture from the opposition All
Progressives Congress, some pro-Jonathan support
groups received about N16bn.
A former legislator who was to print five million
recharge cards, T-shirts and base ball caps has also
come under pressure to account for the billions she
received because only a few people got the items
she was paid to produce. Also, a top female politician
in Lagos who got a contract to produce and supply
thousands of mobile phones with pro-Jonathan
messages was said to have produced just a few and
pocketed most of the funds.
It was learnt that the funds Jonathan released were
disbursed in three phases. Some were released
before the March 28 elections, others on the day of
the presidential election and more before the April
11 governorship polls.
Already, the committee of five has started asking
some of the campaign coordinators and ministers
who received a minimum of N20bn each to give an
account and also refund residual funds where
applicable.
However, our correspondents learnt that most of the
people who received the funds had not cooperated
with the committee. While some have not been
forthcoming, others have simply ignored the
committee.
Jonathan is said to be particularly focusing on the
South-West and northern states.
In Lagos, a popular PDP chieftain who lost in his
polling booth reportedly received $50m in cash a
few days before the governorship elections.
A senior PDP party member who spoke to one of our
correspondents in Lagos over the weekend
confirmed the cash splurge in Lagos.
The source said, “Lagos was a show of shame. A few
days to the governorship poll, about $150m was
received in cash by about five top campaign
coordinators. But they failed again, even more than
we did in the presidential poll because we lost some
areas we won on March 28 to the APC on April 11.
They were to share this money to the local
governments and the masses.
“Please understand me, I am saying that the sum of
$150m was just for the governorship election in
Lagos. We are not talking about the sums they got for
the presidential election. Only one out of the five
people that shared the money gave some of it to
local government chairmen. This person disbursed
about N2bn. The rest of them sat on the money.
“The coordinator that collected the sum of $50m
later went to a Federal Government agency and
complained of not having enough funds for the
election and got an additional $20m. The story is the
same in almost all the South-West especially Oyo,
Osun, and the northern states. A female minister
from the North, who got the highest amount of funds
for that region, lost her state in a shameful manner.”
Confirming that campaign directors in different parts
of the country had been asked for an audit, the PDP
Campaign Director in Akwa Ibom, Mr. Idongesit
Nkanga, said the instruction was not new.
He stated that the PDP’s campaign organisation in the
state had concluded its audit.
“It is the normal thing. It is the right thing to do for
transparency’s sake,” he said.
Nkanga said he would not be able to comment on the
refund because he did not collect money from
anyone.
According to him, the PDP’s campaign organisation in
Akwa Ibom State received a letter for an audit from
the PDP campaign headquarters.
He explained that “because the letter emanated
from the national headquarters of the party, they
were under obligation to submit the audit report
about the campaign’s expenditure to them.”
He maintained that at the campaign headquarters,
some of the information was available, adding that
he would not be able to give SUNDAY PUNCH
accurate details offhand to avoid possible conflict in
the figures.
Asked what sanctions would be meted out to
defaulters, Nkanga said they might be prosecuted.
However, our correspondent reports that
prosecution, while not impossible, may be difficult as
most of the monies disbursed were not receipted.
Contacted, the national leadership of the ruling PDP
said it did not know anything about the money spent
on its presidential campaign.
National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr. Olisa
Metuh, stated this in an interview with one of our
correspondents in Abuja on Saturday.
Metuh said only those put in charge of the funds
were in a position to account for the monies.
He said, “The national leadership of the PDP is not
aware of any campaign fund. We were not part of it
and therefore we can’t be asked to account for what
we didn’t know anything about.
“There was a campaign committee and only the
committee is in the position to account for any fund.”
Efforts made to speak with the Director-General of
the PDP Presidential Campaign Organisation, Sen.
Ahmadu Ali were unsuccessful.
Ali, a former national chairman of the party, did not
pick his call and also failed to respond to a text
message sent to him.
Similarly, efforts to get the Presidency’s reaction did
not yield any result as calls made to the telephone
line of the presidential spokesman, Reuben Abati, as
at 10.30pm did not connect.http://www.punchng.com/news/jonathan-demands-n2trn-election-funds-refund-audit/

Shame on Jonathan and PDP for these senseless looting of our treasury. Two trillion naira (N2,000,000,000,000) is about $10 billion dollars which could be put to so many beneficial projects. Jonathan is a curse to Nigeria!

This will go a long way in teaching politicians that good deeds and integrity trump doling out of money to buy votes.

I do not blame the campaign coordinators who failed to share the money given to them since they knew they were dealing with idiots who could not ensure that all monies released were signed for.

I will be the first person to go against GMB should he fail to bring some people of this outgoing regime to justice. Some of them deserve to be jailed including Jonathan himself but for the agreement in place to let him off the hook.

Like seriously?

Buhari must hear this.

Where did PDP get 2 trillion from? And later some tribal dumb i.d.iots would start whining about their "brother" being kicked out. Don't worry he is free now, he can be governor of Bayelsa or Anambra if you like him so much.

All this our money they are sharing...... Dia ris God o!

Oga Jona have been scammed, Jona got it wrong dashing out naira, dollars to d Obas, how many pple did u think d traditional ruler can influence now u ar lamenting abt d money spent and how u been scammed by crooks like u, don't forget dat ordinary stealing is not a corruption
Dose crooks like u just scammed u cus dey knw right from beginning u can't be re-elect cus d masses ar not happy wit u I just tank d Almighty God dat u lost d election cus I can't be thinking how u going to run dis great nation till 2019 wit d kind of money u dashed out to thief like pastors, Obas etc.. Meanwhile make sure u probe Mimiko cus he must return all d billions of naira dat bastard collected from u

GEJ d Hero of Corruption

He was aware they were spending that much for his re-election and have the guts to ask that they be audit. This guy needs be proved ASAP for waste of National Resources.

Jesus Christ the Nazarene!!


2trillion naira for election campaign?

*Does the sign of the cross*





Lalasticlala front page oooo!

ole le to ba wo inu eko ko tun ja de mo
y spend that much in the first place

In PEJ's voice "all the money you people are sharing, there is God ooo"

GEJ used half of the country's budget to seek re election?

Later some eediots will call him their hero. SMH!

I honestly don't know why GMB is planning to give GEJ a soft landing. The guy and his co-travellers deserve to be imprisoned including the "protection seekers" here on nairaland.

Farewell GEJ.

2trn? I'm not surprised.

It was said that during the six postponed weeks to the elections, GEJ was doling out $50m every single day. That's 10bn every single day!

Had he won the elections, he wouldn't have called for an audit. Thank goodness he lost!


Frawzey

You give mad man money you dey ask for change and receipt? Oga Jonah, how market na? If to say you know now you for save all these trillion trillion wey you waste ontop elekshion go build mansion ontop planet Mars

SkyBlue1:
Where did PDP get 2 trillion from? And later some tribal dumb i.d.iots would start whining about their "brother" being kicked out. Don't worry he is free now, he can be governor of Bayelsa or Anambra if you like him so much.

u realise u r no longer a kid?

This money which is approximately 10 billion dollars could have been used to provide us with 10 thousand megawatts of electricity.

Goodluck 'Egbere' Jonathan is the dumbest person I've ever heard of. Actually, he irritates me as a person, and more as a President. His likes should have never been given birth to. And yeah, indeed, he's a wasted sperm. His hatred for this country is overt. I can't believe he spent such huge amount of money just to hold on to power, and yet some heavenly-made fools tell me he is a hero who loves his country. May Amadioha strike all of you dead!!!

Jonathan, it shall never be well with you!!! O my God! 10 billion U.S dollars? That is enough money to embark on so many capital projects!!! I repeat, it shall never be well with you and those with whom you have stolen our money!!!

I will not forgive Buhari if he doesn't make sure you're imprisoned or executed.

I think I'm entitled to freedom of expression.

If your mother is a she-goat and your father a he-goat, quote me to diss me.

PEJ was not just afraid Buhari would send Jonah to prison ,she knew the damage her husband had done to the Nigerian treasury.
For once I agree with those that say Jonathan deserves a Nobel Laurette, he
truly deserves one; Nobel Laurette for stealing Nigeria dry.

Why would you spend this kind of money in the first place.

Buhari spent less and he won

If the N2trn had been expended on meaningful projects that would directly affect the Nigerian masses positively, Jonathan would have won the elections without printing a poster.

So what will happen in 2019, when only rivers , akwa ibom and delta budgets are carrying the pdp campaign machinery?

Pdp is finished.

Expect more scandals as jona is out.

GEJ is a phenomenon that must not repeat itself again in this country.

The question is how will the new govt pull Nigeria out of this ditch ? Can they ?

The ONLY thing worse than GEJ are the people still supporting him ! - FACT !

f...

Haa,all you dis mumu tanoids on nairaland wey dey shout like idiots here,how much enter your pocket from the 2trillion cos we go probe una

Small time,some idiots wld say JONATHIEf is an hero for conceding defeat... na AYELALA go take una blockos do chicken steww

Lalasticlala my guy, this thread should be on front page o! Haba!

stevecantrell:
The ONLY thing worse than GEJ are the people still supporting him ! - FACT !

AGREED! Unfortunately I don't know if there is any cure for stupidity. Expect some i.d.iot to come and start trying to justify this somehow with "my brother my brother" or "our oyel money". 2trillion naira and bayelsa is still a dump and there are so many unfulfilled and uncompleted projects in the Niger Delta.

MzJackBaueress:
Lalasticlala my guy, this thread should be on front page o! Haba!

Yea its there now. I noticed the other came earlier

Jonaaaaa ohhhh

I no get strength to read all that