More woes have continued to befall the main opposition party, the People’s Democratic Party since its ouster from power during the 2015 General Elections across the country.
It will be recalled that construction works at its permanent site has stopped due to paucity of funds.
According to party sources, party’s policy Institute, the Peoples Democratic Institute (PDI), is on the verge of closure due to non-payment of statutory bills to the FCT Administration.
The Institute was also said to be owing arrears of rent on its premises.
Sources within the party claim that the Makarfi-led faction has been unable to pay the salaries of staff of the Party in the last three months as well as meet its financial obligations to several of its contractors.
But the national publicity secretary of PDP under the leadership of Makarfi, Prince Dayo Adeyeye however refuted the reports, saying they are false. adding that the party is not broke and has been meeting its financial obligations despite its electoral misfortune of 2015.
He further added that the party is not broke and has been meeting its financial obligations despite its electoral misfortune of 2015.
The staff association of the party also dismissed the claim that they have not received salary for three months as a blatant lie, revealing that 70 per cent of their members got salary alerts for January 2017 as at yesterday.
Following PDP’s disastrous outing in the 2015 general election, the financial fortune of the party has dwindled.
Despite the denials, the party source said: “It will be recalled that at the expiration of the last National Working Committee (NWC) the PDP was said to have about N350 million left out of the supposed N13 billion the Party had in its accounts at the time former President Goodluck Jonathan was leaving the Presidency in 2015.
“The financial status of the party has been nosediving dangerously, creating uneasy calm among party faithfuls and staff. Although Party leaders are wary of his intentions, sources close to the Party indicated that the factional Leader of the Party, Senator Ali Modu Sheriff had offered to bail out both the Party’s policy Institute, the PDI, and the caretaker committee of outstanding debts.”
He added that: “The monthly salary bill of the Party is N18m which they have been unable to pay since July last year. It was argued that this may continue until the governors and the chairman of the caretaker resolve their differences.
“In the meantime, some All Progressives Congress (APC) leaders have been mandated to explore all means to woo key staff of the Party to join their ranks as part of the strategy to further weaken the leading opposition party.”
The source further claimed that Sen Makarfi was not in good terms with most of the state governors elected on the platform of the PDP.
The source maintained that the election of Governor Ayo Fayose as the chairman of the PDP Governors Forum which enjoyed the tacit support of Senator Makarfi was seen as a last ditch attempt by the chairman (Makarfi) to bolster his control of the party.
Reacting however, Adeyeye, said even though the party has lost some governorship seats as well as legislative positions at federal and state levels, the party has not defaulted in the payment of its workers salaries and other bills.
The party spokesman also dismissed claims that the chairman of the caretaker committee is having a poor relationship with the governors.
He said: “We have paid staff salaries. Of course because of the electoral tragedy, our finances were affected. We had 27 states in the past and now we have about eight states and will be seven in a few months time. But we are very solvent and not broke. We have continued payment of salaries and other bills. As for the PDI, never at any time has it been closed or threatened to be closed.”
On the relationship between Makarfi and the governors he said: “it is completely false that Sen Makarfi has a sour relationship with the governors, he has always enjoyed wonderful understanding with the governors being one himself before. You could see the wonderful understanding he enjoyed with them when Governor Ayo Fayose was made governors forum chairman. So I can tell you he has an excellent relationship with the governors.”
