The quest by the Peoples Democratic Party to recapture power in Kwara State, which it lost to the All Progressives Congress through the defection of Governor Abdulfatah Ahmed, has made it to engage in some strategies it believes will enhance its chances of winning the 2015 general elections.

PDP, which had been the ruling party in the state for about a decade, lost power following the defection of the governor and his political godfather, Dr. Bukola Saraki, to the APC. Many notable politicians, including Senator Shabba Lafiaji, all the members of the House of Representatives from Kwara State, Speaker of the state House of Assembly, Mr. Razak Atunwa; and 21 other members of the Assembly elected on the PDP platform, also defected to APC.

Chairmen and deputy chairmen of the 16 local government areas and 193 councillors as well as their supporters also dumped PDP for APC.

Having reconciled (or so it seemed) aggrieved members after its state congress election, PDP recently organised a fund-raising event in Abuja to buoy the party’s finances.

But this move came under scathing criticism from APC. The party’s position was made known by its state Publicity Secretary, Alhaji Sulyman Buhari.

The Kwara APC accused President Goodluck Jonathan of secretly providing huge and “scandalous donation” to Kwara PDP in a bid to actualise Jonathan’s earlier vow that the PDP would test its strength before 2015 in the state and even recapture power.

APC said PDP had targeted to raise N5bn at the event towards the 2015 general elections.

It said, “Before anyone will accuse us of meddling in PDP affairs, President Goodluck Jonathan is the president of our country and we are Nigerians and taxpayers. We are familiar with relevant provisions of the Nigerian Constitution and no proviso empowers Mr. President to make such huge donation either publicly or secretly.

“What is the source of this donation? Where did Mr. President derive such power to spend public funds on parochial and partisan interests? Is this fund from the reportedly missing $20bn the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation allegedly failed to remit to government coffers?

“More disturbing are the circumstances surrounding the donation as Mr. President vowed on March 17, 2014 that PDP would test its strength in Kwara State before 2015.”

It stated that with the PDP fund-raising event in Abuja, the party had indeed “become an Abuja party for Abuja politicians.”

APC also said that PDP had lost the little sympathy it enjoyed from the people, adding that the people of Kwara were now well informed of the alleged level of disdain the party had for them.

“No amount of external aggression can arrest the level of harmony and peaceful co-existence currently enjoyed by the good people of Kwara State,” APC said.

It said such huge public fund allegedly donated by Jonathan to PDP would have been beneficial to the people of Kwara State if the money was channelled into complementing the success of Governor Ahmed’s administration in the areas of youth employment and empowerment; security and infrastructural development, among others.

But the state PDP Chairman, Mr. Iyiola Oyedepo, who appeared not bothered by the criticism, said that PDP would soon organise a fund-raising event in Kwara where people would be free to donate any amount they could.

He asked APC to stop ranting over his party’s strategies to boost its electoral fortunes.

Oyedepo also alleged that APC was using public funds for its activities in the state.

He said, “How much are they also spending from Kwara State funds for electioneering? They are using public money to oil their electioneering campaigns, including erection of bill boards. They are also using public money to buy vehicles for their party. Also they are sending people on Hajj on the ticket of the government for political purpose. Why are they kicking against our fund raiser now?”

Oyedepo stated that APC’s criticism of Jonathan over the fund raising drive was either out of ignorance or deliberate mischief.

He said Jonathan neither attended the fund raising event nor sent money by proxy.

Oyedepo claimed that the PDP’s fund-raising ceremony was to take away the control of the party from money bags so that all members would have a sense of belonging.

He said, “In fact we are even organising another one in Kwara State where people will be free to donate to the party even N100 or more. We want to take the party and put it in the hands of the people rather than the money bags.”

Oyedepo said the single largest donor who is not from the state was PDP Board of Trustees’ Chairman, Chief Tony Anenih, who he said donated N10m to the party.

He justified Anenih’s donation, describing the donor as a prominent agriculturist and industrialist.

According to him, another major external donation of N5m came from the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Senator Bala Mohammed and his friends.

Oyedepo said, “We were able to raise more than N250m. We did not raise up to N5bn that day. The APC members know that they are drowning and they believe that they want to smear our name particularly that of the President.

“You know they are always against the President. I wonder why they should. Their allegation is just a calculated attempt to smear our name and the name of the President. But they do not even have that credibility to smear anybody’s name. We know their credentials.”

The state PDP Publicity Secretary, Chief Rex Olawoye, also alleged that the Kwara State Government was funding APC machinery with public fund.

He said PDP was alarmed by the alleged diversion of funds meant for the development of the state to party affairs by the state government.

Olawoye stated that the party had watched with bewilderment how the Ahmed-led administration allegedly dips its hands into the public purse to fund the activities of APC in the state.

He claimed that the APC’s membership registration cost the Kwara people 100m, while its recently held congresses cost N50m.

Olawoye said, “Just when we thought the regime of recklessness was over, the Kwara State Government has once again taken from the money belonging to all Kwara people to sponsor over 1,000 APC members to a jamboree in the name of the governorship declaration of the second term bid of the Governor of Ekiti State.

“We challenge the APC to tell the world the source(s) of the money it has been using to prosecute party activities over the past few months. For example, who paid for the multi-million naira mansion along Peter Tokulola Street, GRA, Ilorin, that the APC recently acquired as its secretariat?

“From which account other than the state’s, is the Kwara State Government sponsoring over 50 APC state and local government executives to Umrah pilgrimages in Mecca? Who paid for the transportation of over 1,000 members of the APC to Isin, Offa, Share and Omu-Aran and Kaiama where they had gone to inaugurate his projects as part of an insensitive celebration of an uneventful third anniversary of the APC-led government?

“Is it not ironic that the Kwara APC, whose machinery is being sponsored and funded with the public coffers, would have the morality to criticise the PDP, whose singular ‘offence’ in the estimation of the APC is that it rallied its members to donate voluntarily from their individual widow’s mite to their party?”

Olawoye said the Kwara APC should summon the courage to first cast out the large log of wood allegedly in its eyes before criticising “PDP’s well-meaning effort.”

According to him, the fact that people from all walks of life defiled partisanship and gathered at the Sheraton Hotels and Towers for the fund-raising dinner and donated generously to the cause of the Kwara PDP was enough evidence that the people had rejected APC.

Olawoye said, “This is why we are not surprised that the APC is feeling scared and jittery to the extent of seeking to acquire a fresh but unsustainable loan of N23bn from the capital market in a bid to match up to the PDP’s modest war chest.”

But the APC Secretary, Mr. Yemi Afolayan, said PDP’s allegations were spurious, adding that they should be ignored.

He stated that the state government was not funding the party, adding that the party was being ingenious in raising legally justifiable funds.

Afolayan said PDP was engaging in misinformation to seek relevance.

According to him, Kwara residents have dumped PDP for APC for good.

He said it was laughable that PDP would accuse Ahmed of non-performance, adding that the governor’s great performance was not in doubt.

Afolayan also said the governor was being judicious, transparent and frugal in the management of public resources.

He said, “PDP is confused now. In the national scheme of things, the President is fast losing grip of the situation in Nigeria and that is why the leadership of PDP in Kwara State is confused. They don’t get their facts right and when they talk, we just ignore them because I can’t even see who they are.

“So when you have people like that, the best thing is to ignore them. For example, PDP spokesperson was talking about our new secretariat; he doesn’t even know the location.”