The two presidential aspirants of All Progressives Congress, APC and Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, said to have violated the provisions of Electoral Act because groups bought forms for them may be in a quandary.
While Nigeria Consolidation Ambassadors Network led by Kogi Governor Yaya Bello who claimed to be the closest to the president with father-son relationship bought the form for President Muhammadu Buhari of APC, while Atiku Support Group bought for Atiku Abubakar of PDP.
Section 91 (9) of the Electoral Act stipulates that no single individual or group should make a donation of more than N1 million to a presidential candidate.
However, the Presidency Thursday kept mum on the allegation of violating the provisions of the Electoral Act in accepting the APC presidential nomination form valued at N45 million presented to Buhari by a group of supporters.
Yet, Atiku Abubakar who also received the PDP’s N12 million form from a coalition of groups claimed not to have violated the law in his own case.
“They donated money in trickles. The fact is that we have picked the form and we have dropped the form,” Atiku campaign spokesman, Segun Sowemimo said Thursday.
Presidency officials charged on the issue Thursday parried comments on Consolidation Ambassadors Network led by Kogi Governor Yaya Bello who claimed to be the closest to the president with father-son relationship bought the form for President Muhammadu Buhari of APC, while Atiku Support Group bought for Atiku Abubakar on the issue which is believed to have violated the Act.
Director of communication of the Buhari Campaign Organisation, Mr. Festus Keyamo, SAN could not be reached on the matter as he was said to be abroad. An email sent to him was yet to get a response as at press time Thursday night.
Meanwhile, PDP has asked the president to in the spirit of decency to reject the form from the group.
The PDP in its response articulated by its spokesman, Mr. Kola Ologbondinyan said “Nigerians are aware that the very expensive personal effects, including posh jewelleries daily paraded by his close relatives betrayed the gimmick of using an unregistered group, pieced together to execute another failed pro-poor stunt to sway Nigerians.
“Already, our people are daily confronted by the flaunting of affluence and material wealth by the President and those around him, while betraying and abandoning millions of poor Nigerians who, unfortunately, put their trust in him in 2015.
“Since President Buhari has not publicly disowned the purchase of the form by the group, the PDP charges INEC to, within the next 24 hours, hold him culpable and make him to face the appropriate sanctions for the violation of electoral laws,” the party said.
But, APC is yet to react to the form bought for Atiku Abubakar.
