The National Vice Chairman (North West) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Salihu Mohammed Lukman, has disclosed that the party in the last general elections jettisoned its known tradition of providing campaign funds to candidates on its platform.
In a chat with newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja, Lukman said that the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led National Working Committee (NWC) did not release funds for presidential, governorship, National Assembly and Houses of Assembly candidates for their campaigns because some elements in the polity never wanted the party to win elections, especially the presidential poll.
Lukman, who is a member of the NWC, said, “We are just coming out from elections where we were not able to sustain past precedence. Under Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, in 2029, every candidate of the party received funds from the national secretariat. In these last elections, no candidate of the party received a dime from the national secretariat.
“In our constitution, the NEC is supposed to approve a form of sharing formula. But there was no NEC meeting. We have zonal, state, LGA and ward structures which are left on their own. The whole question of funding the party has not been addressed.
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“The presidential candidate of the APC didn’t get a dime from the party. I am saying this publicly, let them contradict me, let them show evidence that that was not the case.”
Asked if Muhammadu Buhari as a presidential candidate in 2015 and 2019 was given campaign funds, he said, “Look, in 2015 the party was truly a model party.
“President Buhari didn’t have money. People were assigned responsibilities to raise money. There were people assigned with the responsibility of mobilising money for the party.
