PDP In Trouble Over N70m Debt

The Peoples’ Democratic Party has dismissed their former leader of its 2015 Presidential Campaign Organisation, Ahmadu Ali over the N70 million debt accrued by the party.

The PDP had refused to  accept liability for a N70 million contract Mr. Ali signed on behalf of the party.

Ahmadu Ali

Documents presented to the Abuja High Court in Kuje suggested that the former National Chairman of the party had signed a contract to broadcast promotional campaign messages with Silon Concepts Limited, a Lagos-based communications outfit.

READ ALSO: Dealing With Illegal Immigrants

Ali had commissioned Silon Concept to deploy President (Jonathan’s) voice file to sixty (60) million registered eligible voters”.

The PDP had then pulled back of the contract after President Jonathan’s loss as the polls which prompted Siol Concepts to sue the PDP and Mr. Ali as well as the former Minister of Finance, Nenadi Usman, of refusing to pay about N70 million as balance of payment for its services.

Mr. Ali was the Director General of the campaign organisation, while Mrs. Usman, a former Senator, served as the Director of Finance of the campaign organization.

READ ALSO: NDLEA Arrests Man With $2.1 Million In Lagos Airport (Photos)

The application was filled by the company’s legal counsel, Festus Keyamo, and the asked the court to compel the PDP to pay for the outstanding sum of N70 million for services rendered pursuant to agreed terms of the contract.

Silon also demanded that N15 million be deposited by the PDP as legal fees for the suit, apart from an annual interest rate of 10 per cent on the outstanding principal sum until it was is fully liquidated.

The court had on June 4, 2015 asked the defendants to submit their defense within eight days of service, failure which the court threatened to go ahead to give judgment against them.

However, the PDP’s counsel, Kwon Victoe released a statement of defence dated June 18, 2015 saying tha even though Mr. Ali and Mrs. Usman were members of the party, they however weren’t authorized to carry out the multi-million naira transaction before and after the presidential elections.

READ ALSO: PDP, Presidency In Fresh War Over Source Of Bailout Funds

The party also denied being owners of the account number 1010740698 in Zenith Bank Plc, through which the campaign organisation paid billions of naira for its activities.

The account, belonging to Jointrust Dimension Nigeria Limited, has Mrs. Usman as its sole signatory.

Mrs Usman has however failed to file a defense apart from a notice of preliminary objection dated July 2, 2015 in which she challenged the competence and jurisdiction of the court to entertain a case against her seeking to recover debts allegedly owed by the PDP.

To make the matters worse, Mr. Ali has neither filed a defence nor even bothered to present himself to court.

The 2015 election has been described by analyst as the first election in Africa which made great use of Information technology at their helm, with both parties investing so much in reaching all parts of the nation’s demography.

The post PDP In Trouble Over N70m Debt appeared first on NAIJ.COM News - Nigeria news | Today's Breaking news & headlines..

loading...