Date: 2014-05-30

The Kwara State chapter of All Progressives Congress, APC, has accused President Goodluck Jonathan of "secretly making huge and scandalous fund donation" to the state chapter of Peoples Democratic Party in a bid to make Kwara State ungovernable and actualise Mr President's earlier vow that PDP would test its strength before 2015 in Kwara State.

The leadership of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State held a fundraising event to raise #5billion towards the 2015 general elections at Abuja on Tuesday

In a statement in Ilorin, by its Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari, the party said President Goodluck Jonathan's donation to Kwara PDP is not only huge but scandalous.

"Before anyone will accuse us of meddling in a PDP affair, President Goodluck Jonathan is the president of our country and we are Nigerians and taxpayers. We are familiar with relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and no proviso empowers Mr President to make such huge donation either publicly or secretly. This donationgate and scandal is coming on the heels of widespread news that the military accused the finance minister, Madam Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala of starving them of funds needed to discharge their duties.

"We ask: what is the source of this scandalous donation? Where did Mr President derive such powers to spend public funds on parochial and partisan interests? Is this fund from the still missing 20 billion dollars the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) failed to remit to government coffer?.

"More disturbing are circumstances surrounding this donation, apart from the fact that Mr President vowed on 17th of March, 2014 that PDP would test its strength in Kwara State before 2015, the receiver of this donation, Kwara PDP, prides itself on a rich record of violence. PDP leaders including a suspended member of Kwara State House of Assembly and many members of the party that were arrested with arms and ammunition are at various stages of prosecution by the Police Command. Kwarans will not also forget the bloody PDP congresses in a hurry. Since the party has established record of violence and gangsterism, what will be the fate of the people of Kwara State if this huge presidential donation is channelled to procurement of arms, ammunition and munitions? Is the donation a deliberate attempt to fund violence and make Kwara State ungovernable? We alert the Police Command on this development.

"Meanwhile, With the PDP fundraising ceremony held at Abuja, the party is indeed an Abuja party for Abuja Politicians. It has lost the little sympathy it enjoyed from the people of Kwara State as Kwarans are now well informed of the level of disdain the party has for them. No amount of external aggression can arrest the level of harmony and peaceful co-existence currently enjoyed by the good people of Kwara State.

"Such huge public funds donated by Mr President to the violent plus inept PDP would have been beneficial to the good people of Kwara State if it were channelled to complement the successes of the Governor Ahmed Abdulfatah led administration in the areas of youths employment and empowerment, security, infrastructural development, among other commendable interventions.", the statement read.