TVC E, POLITICS – Ekiti Governor Ayodele Fayose has berated an ex-secretary of the state’s chapter of the PDP, Tope Aluko over allegations that former president Goodluck Jonathan funded his election win.
Aluko claimed that Jonathan gave Fayose $37 million cash for the June 21, 2014 governorship election on Sunday.
The embattled PDP chieftain, a member of the team that prosecuted the election, said Jonathan gave Fayose the alleged sum in two tranches.
He alleged that $2 million was collected in March 2014 at the NNPC Towers in Abuja for the primary election.
He said the money was received from businessman Ifeanyi Uba, who last night denied playing any role in the election or giving Fayose any money.
Aluko said the cash was taken to Fayose’s private house in Abuja from where it was moved to Ekiti.
“Immediately after the primary election, we collected another $35 million from Jonathan on June 17, 2014. The money was brought to us by the former Minister of State for Defence, Senator Musiliu Obanikoro.
“We all assembled in front of Spotless Hotel, Ado-Ekiti, owned by Fayose. Thereafter, the cash was taken to a Bureau De Change in Onitsha where, with the support of Chris Uba, it was converted to N4.7 billion,” Aluko added.
In his response to the claims, Fayose through his Special Assistant on Public Communications and New Media Mr. Lere Olayinka said Aluko was beclouded by his desperation to seek revenge against Fayose because of his refusal to make him his Chief of Staff.
He (Aluko) is not mindful of committing the criminal offence of perjury, the statement added.
The governor described as “shameful” that the All Progressives Congress (APC) has refused to accept a scandalous electoral defeat they suffered 19 months ago, asking whether it was also soldiers that rigged the 2015 presidential, senatorial, House of Representatives and State House of Assembly elections that the party lost.
He said: “For Aluko to be taken seriously, he must first have to report himself to the police to be tried for perjury and committed to prison for three years since what he is now saying is different from what he said under oath at the Election Tribunal where he was the only witness called by the PDP and Governor Fayose.
“If after giving evidence under oath at the tribunal that the Election was free, fair and credible and that security agents, including soldiers performed their duties creditably, saying something else more than one year after is not fair.
“It is also a demonstration of the fact that given the right offer tomorrow, the same Aluko can also address the press tomorrow to deny all he said today. He can even deny his own existence since he can deny what he said under oath just because he was not made Chief of Staff.
“Therefore, we won’t bother ourselves responding to what a political parasite chooses to say because he wouldn’t have said what he is saying today if he had been made Chief of Staff to Governor Fayose and it is sure that if he is called today, and given the right offer, he will
begin to sing another song.
“Also, the APC bad losers in Ekiti State should know that it will take more than recruiting and paying a disgruntled TKO Aluko to discredit an election adjudged by both local and international observers, including the United States government as free, fair and credible.
“They will probably need to pay INEC to tell Nigerians that an election it conducted, in which an incumbent governor lost in his own local government, was not credible.
“As per his claim that $37 million was given to the governor for the election, the governor got financial support from various sources as it is usual of anyone contesting election and it is not for him to begin to advertise in the media the level of support the governor received from individuals, corporate organisations or groups.
“However, if money belonging to the APC is missing and they suspect that the money was stolen by Dr Goodluck Jonathan to fund Ekiti State governorship election, they can approach the EFCC.”
Aluko, who fell out with Fayose shortly after the election, disclosed that the governor collected about N3 billion cash from Senator Buruji Kashamu in 2013 to revive the then comatose PDP structure in Ekiti.
