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[REVEALED] Controversial PDP Housing Allowance: Blow-by-blow Account Of How NWC Members, Staff Got N1.3bn

Published

3 years ago

October 9, 2022

Facts have emerged about events leading up to the approval and disbursements of various sums of money to members of the National Working Committee as well as Secretariat Staff of the Peoples Democratic Party, as Housing allowance.

A document sighted by Vanguard on Sunday revealed that a total of N1.3bn was approved by the party leadership for disbursement.

The decision was sequel to a memo presented by the party’s National Secretary, Sen. Samuel Anyanwu at an NWC meeting attended by 13 NWC members while 6 members sent in apologies.

The Deputy National Chairman (North), Amb. Illiya Damagun, presided over the meeting because the National Chairman, Sen. Iyorchia Ayu, was abroad.

The document reads in part “Housing Allowance for NWC/ Staff: The National Secretary presented a memo requesting NWC to approve the payment of Housing allowance to members of the NWC and the Staff.”

In the comments section, the document read: “The National Vice Chairman NW, suggested that the memo be amended by separating Deputy National Officers from NWC and also said the housing allowance should be approved considering how much it would help members and staff.

“The National Treasurer commended the National Secretary for ensuring that staff were also beneficiaries of the housing allowance.

“The National Auditor suggested that the two year salary set aside should be invested.”

Subsequently, “The NWC approved a total sum of N1 billion, three hundred and seventy-eight million two hundred and eleven thousand, five hundred and eight Naira (N1, 378, 211,506) Only for the payment of Housing Allowance to NWC, Deputy National Officers and Staff.”

Those who sent in apologies were: National Vice Chairman (South East), Chief Ali Odefa, his South South counterpart, Chief Dan Orbi as well as their counterparts from the South West, and North Central, Hon. Olasoji Adagunde and Theophilus Dakas Shan respectively.

Others were: National Woman Leader, Prof. Stella Efface-Attoe and Deputy National Secretary, Setonji Koshoedo.

Recall that four senior members of the NWC namely: Taofeek Arapaja, Deputy National Chairman (South), Chief Dan Orbi National Vice Chairman (South-South), Woman Leader, Prof. Stella Efface- Attoe, returned sums ranging from N28.8m to N34m which was paid into their accounts after describing the payments as suspicious.

They each wrote letters addressed to the National Chairman expressing displeasure with a media publication which suggested that the money was paid as a bribe to secure their support in order to cover up an alleged financial impropriety.

However, in the attendance register sighted by Vanguard, Arapaja’s name appeared as number two after that of Damagun who presided over the meeting.

The controversy generated by the refund led to calls by some party leaders for the national chairman to step aside. Others felt it was an orchestrated plot to destabilise the party by making “a mountain out of a molehill.”

There has been tension between party leaders sympathetic to the Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike and those loyal to the party’s Presidential Candidate, Atiku Abubakar who has remained a pillar of support for Ayu.

While Wike and most of his supporters have withdrawn their support for the Presidential

Campaign insisting Ayu should step aside first, the party’s campaign is expected to be officially flagged off in Uyo, the Akwa Ibom State capital on Monday
VANGUARD

News

Bumper Harvest: Foundation Distributes 6,000 Fertilizers To Farmers In Bauchi

Published

10 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

A group, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation has donated 6,000 50kg bags of fertilizer to farmers in Bauchi state in order to have a bumper harvest.

Speaking during the flag off ceremony of the distribution of the fertilizers on Thursday, Mr Abubakar Mohammed, Monitoring and Evaluation Officer, Wunti Al-Khair Foundation, said the distribution was only for the indigent farmers in the state.

He said the fertilizers would be distributed to farmers in underserved communities across the three Senatorial Districts of the state.

“We are gathered here to flag off the free distribution of fertilizers to farmers, especially the indigent farmers that don’t have the means to buy fertilizer for their farms.

“That is the reason why the founder of this foundation bought the fertilizers and distributed them to the low income farmers in the state.

“We have gone round the nooks and crannies of the state to identify the underserved communities and those that deserve this particular gesture.

“We planned to distribute about 6,000 bags of fertilizer and due to the populous nature of the Bauchi LGA, they have the largest share but some other local governments too have hundreds of beneficiaries which we divided into Senatorial zones,” he said.

According to him, today was the flagging off of the Bauchi South Senatorial District, adding that the extension of the gesture would commence in Bauchi North and Bauchi Central Senatorial Districts tomorrow.

Mohammed explained that the only criteria used in selecting the beneficiaries were underserved communities and low income farmers, adding that “we know that a large number of the farmers in Bauchi state are low income farmers.

“Those are the people that we identified, verified and they are our beneficiaries and we have warned the general public about the activities of some unscrupulous elements that go round to impersonate our foundation.

“Wunti Al-Khair Foundation is not charging a kobo for every part of its activities, be it education, healthcare, economic empowerment and community development”.

Responding, one of the beneficiaries, Emmanuel Samson, described the support as a timely intervention that would greatly enhance his farming activities and appreciated the foundation for the intervention.

Another beneficiary, Salisu Maidawa, who was short of words for the gesture, said the gesture came at a time when he was in dire need of it.

News

IYC Urges Tinubu To Sack NCDMB Boss

Published

11 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Western Zone, has urged President Bola Tinubu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, the Executive Secretary of Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for allegedly not “keeping up to the fundamental mandate,” upon which the agency was established.

This was contained in a statement jointly signed by Comrade Nicholas Igarama, Comrade Ebi Joshua Olowolayemo, and Comrade Tare Magbei, Western Zone
Chairman, Secretary, and Information Officer respectively, and made available to newsmen in Warri on Thursday, August 14, 2015.

According to the IYC, the call for Ogbe’s sack becomes necessary following his incompetence and ethnic bias, adding that Ogbe has turned the agency meant for the whole Niger Delta to his Itsekiri ethnic group alone.

The IYC, while noting that efforts to meet the NCDMB Executive Secretary to discuss critical issues as they affect the region and its people have proved abortive, said it can no longer fold it arms and watch while things go from bad to worse.

“As Executive Secretary of the NCDMB, Ogbe has consistently failed to input his supposed industry track record in the advancement of the mandate upon which the agency was founded.

“He has continually had a sectional engagement with his fellow Itsekiri Kits and Kin, thereby shutting all other ethnic nationalites in the Niger Delta region out.

“Repeatedly, he avoided critical youth engagement in the region while sponsoring that of his Itsekiri ethnicity through different human capacity development initiatives, while other ethnic nationalites are left unattended.

“As Ijaw, mostly from the western flank where Engr. Ogbe also hails from, we will not sit and watch others benefit from the resources that we produce without our practical involvement to better the lives of our people as well.

“It is on record that the leadership of Ijaw Youth Council (IYC) Western Zone has tried to establish communication with Engr. Ogbe, for the last ten months, but every medium of communication to get his attention has fundamentally proven to be abortive.

“As youths, we can no longer have leaders in office who have now equated themselves to demi-god and have refused to attend to most significantly youthful issues in the Niger Delta Region.

“To this end, we therefore call on President Bola Ahmed Tinibu to immediately sack Engr. Felix Omatsola Ogbe, who has consistently displayed disregard for critical actors in the Niger Delta and has also exhibited the highest level of gross inefficiency by not keeping up to the fundamental mandate upon which NCDMB was founded,” the statement reads.

The IYC also called for the probe Ogbe as Executive Secretary after his sack.

Efforts to reach Dr. Obinna Ezeobi, the General Manager, Corporate Communications, NCDMB, for reaction proved abortive.

News

I’m Being Impersonated – Goodluck Jonathan Disowns Social Media Account

Published

13 hours ago

August 14, 2025

Editor

Former President Goodluck Jonathan, on Thursday said he is being impersonated by fraudsters.

Jonathan alleged that a fraudulent Instagram handle has been impersonating him.

In a statement by his Media Aide,
Ikechukwu Eze, the former President insisted that he does not operate any Instagram handle.

The statement is titled ‘Beware of fake Instagram account impersonating H.E. Dr Goodluck Ebele Jonathan’.

“Our attention has been drawn to a fraudulent Instagram account operating under the handle goodluck_ebelejonathan, which is falsely impersonating former President Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

“This impostor account has been deceitfully posting content, some copied from Dr. Jonathan’s Facebook page, while pretending to represent the former President.

“We wish to emphasise that Dr. Jonathan does not operate any Instagram account.

“The media and members of the public are strongly advised to disregard, avoid sharing, or promoting any content originating from this fake profile,” the statement read.