Aiyedatiwa, Ajayi Debate Over Alleged N20bn Election Spending

Ondo State’s opposition Peoples Democratic Party claimed that Gov. Lucky Aiyedatiwa took N20bn from the state Treasury to finance his campaign.

But in a swift reaction, the ruling party refuted the claim, describing it as false and baseless.

In an interview with The PUNCH on Wednesday, Director General of the PDP Campaign Council, Dr. Eddy Olafeso, claimed that Aiyedatiwa took N20bn from the state coffers and allegedly used it to buy votes, inducing voters with N10,000 each.

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But the Director of Media and Publicity for the ruling All Progressives Congress in Ondo, Steve Otaloro, rubbished the claim, describing it as a fallacy.

Reflecting on why the PDP lost the Saturday election to the APC, Olafeso said, “It was money politics. It was vote-buying that assumed a new dimension, that is unheard of, that somebody will lay online almost N20bn of state money for an election. Apart from the criminality and the distortion that it can bring about, the people have been entirely very pauperised.

“It’s obvious now that they are using poverty as a weapon for election manipulations, and that’s exactly what transpired here in Ondo State. The criminality involved is exactly what we are investigating.

“The reality is, how can you be smart to the point of, as a member of the opposition, rake in almost N20bn for an election and you know it runs contrary to the whole electoral process? We didn’t distribute money for people to vote for us.

“Forty-eight hours to this election, if you are a resident in Ondo State, you know whom the people wanted to vote for until the money influence and, in this extreme poverty, N10,000 means a lot, a world to so many people.”

But reacting to the allegation, the Ondo APC spokesman, Otaloro said the party was open to scrutiny of the source of its campaign funds.

Otaloro said, “All these allegations are false and misleading. The funding for our campaign was transparent and in line with electoral regulations. We didn’t use any government funds for our campaign, and we’re confident that our financial records will withstand any scrutiny.

“Our campaign was funded through a combination of donations from party members, supporters, and well-wishers, as well as fundraising events and activities. We also received funding from our party’s national headquarters, which is permissible under the Election Act.

“We’re committed to transparency and accountability in our campaign financing, and we’re willing to cooperate with any investigation or inquiry into our financial records.”