The All Progressives Congress Presidential Campaign Council (APC PCC) has challenged the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to provide evidence to back its allegation that the ruling party has stashed N22.5 billion of old currency notes to be swapped for new ones to buy votes in the forthcoming general election.
Describing the allegations as a cock and bull story, the APC Campaign Council wondered how the PDP, a party known for harbouring looters, could accuse APC and its flag bearer.
In a statement yesterday in Abuja by its National Publicity Secretary Debo Ologunagba, the PDP had alleged that it was “aware that the N22.5 billion in old N1,000 notes was allegedly kept in a Kano State Government facility before being moved to a particular old generation and a certain new generation bank where the regional heads were contacted by the APC presidential campaign to swap the old notes with new ones”.
It added: “Further information revealed that the cash is being warehoused by the Tinubu campaign for alleged vote-buying in Kano, Kaduna, Bauchi, Jigawa and Sokoto states. A particular APC state governor is reported to have taken delivery of N500 million new naira notes to actualise the vote-buying plot.”
Addressing reporters over the allegations, the Director of Media and Publicity of the APC PCC, Bayo Onanuga, described them as baseless and unfounded.
In a terse statement last night in Abuja, he said: “Let them provide the evidence, if they uncovered such. It is not enough to dish out cock and bull stories in the name of press releases. Making senseless allegations every passing day, which has become the hallmark of PDP campaign, is not how to win an election.
“Nigerians cannot be deceived by a party of looters. Nigerians can’t forget a party of people that looted over $2 billion meant for arms procurement when Boko Haram was killing our citizens and almost took over three states in the Northeast.
“We challenge the PDP to bring out any evidence of their latest allegation. Otherwise, the party of looters should hide its ugly face in perpetual shame.”