The Peoples Democratic Party Governors’ Forum on Saturday expressed concern over the move by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate the party’s finance.
The forum said this in a statement by its Director-General, CID Maduabum, in Abuja, on Saturday.
It said the PDP was up to date in submission of it yearly financial account to the Independent National Electoral Commission as required by the Constitution.
Maduabum said the Governors were not aware that INEC made any complaints to the EFCC on the PDP’s returns.
He said the recent invitation of PDP officials by the EFCC raised some concerns on the impartiality of the anti-graft agency.
Maduabum said the PDP as a political party was accountable to its members and the general public for its actions.
“The PDP governors were concerned that it was a misplaced priority and move to silence political opposition,” the DG said.
He advised the EFCC’s new leadership to learn from the mistakes of its predecessors.
Maduabum said: “Even the petition in question did not make a single allegation of misuse of government funds, nor cheating of any individual or public authority by the PDP.
“It is, therefore, surprising that EFCC should use its scarce human and other resources to begin an investigation into PDP finances.
“If EFCC is even-handed and non-partisan, it should also conduct an investigation into other political parties including the ruling party.”
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a member of the PDP, Kazeem Afegbua, who was suspended on Saturday by the Edo State chapter of the party, had petitioned the EFCC and Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission for a probe of the party’s accounts.
Afegbua in the petition submitted to the EFCC and ICPC in April asked that the PDP leadership accounted for the sum of N10 billion allegedly realised from the sale of forms for the 2019 general election.
This made the anti-graft agency to invite the PDP officials for investigation.
The PDP, however, denied the allegation that it generated the sum of N10 billion from sale of nomination and expression of interest forms in 2019.
The party’s National Publicity Secretary, Kola Ologbondiyan, at a news conference in Abuja said the PDP generated N4.6 billion and raised a budget for its expenditure in line with all known financial regulations.