The Deputy Senate President, Dr Ike Ekweremadu, has disclosed how he gave the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) N5 million as a fledging political party in 2014.
Ekweremadu, who spoke on Sunday in his native Enugu, said he gave the money through now Minister for Labour and Productivity, Dr Chris Ngige, whom he said asked for “help” to enable the party gain its feet in Enugu State.
However, he lamented that the party is not extending such courtesy opposition parties and their leaders.
He said, “The beauty of democracy is the enlargement of the political space in which everybody is free to participate, bring and exchange ideas, and disagree in order to agree. But we are not seeing that today.
“I will tell you something that is going to shock you. In 2014 when APC started, they wanted to register members in Enugu state. Senator Chris Ngige called me and said they were having problem registering members in Enugu State, and asked if I help them. I was the deputy president of the senate in the PDP, but I gave them N5 million. Ngige is still my witness.
Read Also: Don’t listen to IPOB on Sept 14 sit-at-home directive – Security agencies
“During that 2015 election, one lady came to me and said she wanted to run against me on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and she needed my support. I said okay, I will start by paying for your nomination form because I believe every party must be given a chance. She lost the election, but I later helped to secure a political position for her.
“Just yesterday, I also got a call from a man who introduced himself as an engineer from Achi, but lives in Jigawa. He later came with his family to tell me that he wanted to run for the senate in Enugu west. I congratulated him and offered to help purchase his nomination form. But he told me he had already bought his form. He was surprised when I offered to buy form for him. As far as I am concerned, all power belongs to God.”
Leave a Reply