The National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, Senator Iyorcha Ayu, has revealed that the party’s presidential candidate for the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, wanted him to take a loan of N1 billion when he assumed office.
Ayu spoke in Abuja on Friday during a news briefing by the PDP Board of Trustees on the crisis rocking the party.
He said at the briefing by the Acting Chairman of the BoT, Adolphus Wabara, that the PDP had only one desire, which was to return to power in 2023.
He said: “We have one singular goal in this party and that goal is to win the forthcoming elections, particularly the presidential election.
“The NWC, of which I am the chairman, is very desirous of having a united party.”
Ayu said that in spite of the perceived crisis in the PDP, the NWC had worked behind the scene to bring about peace and reconciliation in the party.
He expressed hope that the report would help to unite the party or move it towards a strong position to win the elections.
Fielding questions from newsmen, Ayu said that he attended the meeting because he was a BoT member.
Ayu, who advised that his family be left out of the party crisis, denied collecting N1 billion from anybody.
He said: “When we came in and the party had funding difficulties, the presidential candidate suggested that we should take a loan from the bank and the owner of that bank is a member of the party.
“He has even left the party.
“The party never took any loan from anybody.
“Any money advanced to the party was declared before the NWC and handed over to the National Treasurer.
“All our accounts are up to date and we promised to publish the accounts at the end of the year.”
Ayu said that the NWC only received N100 million from one of the governors to revive the Peoples Democratic Institute, which was housed in a portacabin at the party national headquarters.
He said with the money, the party’s NWC hired an appropriate place in Asokoro, renovated and furnished it, which was inspected with the governors few days ago.
He said: “I am happy that the National Secretary of the party has since written a letter to that governor.
“I or the NWC never took any money to carry out that renovation.
“In fact, we have not even exhausted that N100 million by one of the governors.
“I have refrained from reacting to the consistent attack on my person since the end of the convention on May 31.
“As a father of the party, I felt I should encourage reconciliation.
“But where it touches on my personal integrity or even my family members are brought into play, I appeal to such people to desist from trying to malign my character or bringing my family into party affairs.”
