The shift in date for the National Assembly/Presidential election of the 2019 election is taking its tool on candidates and political parties as party agents and stalwarts who had been mobilized on with cash the eve of the cancelled election have failed to return the monies already advanced to them.
It would be recalled that few hours before the scheduled date after parties had concluded arrangements for the election, the Independent National Electoral Chairman, INEC, through its National Chairman, announced shift of the election from February 16, 2019 to Feb 23, 2019.
Trumpeta learnt that as part of the mobilization programmes, logistics provided for election which came in form of money was handed to party agents and voters of the party have been withheld by the party leaders and agents who collected the money in trust for their camps.
Verifications by this newspaper revealed that the major four political parties in the state; namely, AA, APC, APGA and PDP were involved in the sharing of logistics but the worst hit is the “Perfect Alliance group comprising the AA and APC members of the Okorocha faction of the ruling party.
Trumpeta was reliably informed that a reasonable sum of money was advanced to party leaders and agents before midnight in preparations for the elections. It was also gathered that council chairmen, House of Assembly members of AA and top political appointees of Okorocha took charge of the distribution of logistics at the various localities where each booth in the electoral wards of the LGAs got nothing less than N250, 00 as “logistics” fund.
Further reports have it that PDP, APGA and the Coalition APC were not left out in dishing out advance funds for the election.
But, the cancellation of the 16th February date has turned into a blessing in disguise for the party agents and stalwarts who got the advance payments.
Our reporters who monitored the proceedings revealed that moments the election was cancelled, the sources that provided the monies, including the candidates and party leaders started calling their leaders and agents entrusted with the monies for a refund. Details of what transpired however revealed that majority of those who took the money have either remained incommunicado or refused to return the cash based on the claims that it had been disbursed or used for mobilization before it was called off.
Across the state, the story of party agents and stalwarts not complying with the directive to return the money is the same, even as some are said to be applying threat and force mechanism to retrieve it from those unable to respond.
Trumpeta also learnt that majority of those in custody of the cash claimed it was payment for their labour while others concluded that the advance payment remained part of the “Valentine Day” gift show which took place last week end.
Already, disaffection is said to have crept into the political camps of the various parties especially that of the AA and APC “Perfect Alliance” group as those who provided the logistics continue to count loses. This newspaper also gathered that in some cases, the quest to regain the money led to fisticuffs between the providers and party stalwarts entrusted with the money. A source revealed that while the Okorocha group has called a meeting to address while asking for the money to be returned, PDP, APC and APGA have also intensified pressure on those in custody of the money to return it.
