PDP Is Bankrupt? We Cannot Build Our Secretariat Again- PDP
The Peoples Democratic Party has declared that it is bankrupt and hence cannot continue with the construction of its new national secretariat.
PDP National Publicity Secretary, Chief Olisa Metuh
According to the national leadership of the PDP, the party no longer has money to complete its multi-billion naira project located at the central business district, Abuja.
Sources in Abuja say that contractors handling the project were only doing skeletal jobs at the site, and as of Wednesday, December 9, there was no visible job being done there.
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The Punch reports that the project which was awarded some years ago, was billed to cost N11.5bn.
On completion, the building will comprise 12 floors, including a parking space in two floors.
Spokesman for the party, Chief Olisa Metuh, said the party’s hope of completing the secretariat lies on its ability to secure the services of a developer that would handle it, with an agreement on how it would recoup its money.
Metuh disclosed this in an exclusive interview with pressmen in Abuja on Wednesday.
He also debunked the rumour that members of the National Working Committee of the party got a huge sum of money from the fund realised for its Presidential campaign early in the year.
He said: “During our sales of forms, we had planned to use substantial part of the money to complete the secretariat.
“We also had a fund-raising dinner where money was raised and we were told that about N21bn was raised and that some of it would be given to us for the completion of the secretariat but we didn’t see the money.”
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It will be recalled that a former minister of information and the chairman of the party’s fund-raising committee, Prof Jerry Gana, had said the controversial N21.8bn donated to the party by individuals, the party’s serving governors and private consortium was not solely meant for the presidential campaign of Goodluck Jonathan.
Metuh also noted that the money the national leadership of the party had kept aside to use for the secretariat from the amount generated from the sales of forms was spent.
He said that the National Working Committee (NWC) was asked to divert the amount to the campaign of its governorship candidates during the last elections.
The PDP spokesman said that the directive came after the party had lost the presidential election to the All Progressives Congress (APC).
“The one (money) we kept for the completion of the secretariat, after we lost the presidential election. We were directed to divert the funds to the campaign organisation (of our governorship candidates).
“So, we channelled it directly to our governorship candidates across the country in over 30 states and other candidates in the House of Assemblies.
“That really depleted the funds of the party and almost brought it to ground zero.
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“As we speak, we don’t have funds for the completion of the new secretariat. The acting chairman of the NWC would take the issue to the national caucus to know how we can engage the services of developers on some arrangements,” Metuh Said.
Regarding the turbulence that has characterised the Bayelsa gubernatorial race, the PDP has accused the politicians and political groups of inciting chaos and disrupting the peace which has been existent in the state.
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