Politics
PDP describes police as magicians over N111m Rivers rerun bribery claim
The National Working Committee (NWC) chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Ahmed Makarfi, has described the police panel that investigated the Rivers state rerun as magicians.
The party said this in reaction to the claims by the panel that it recovered N111million cash allegedly used to bribe INEC officials to rig the December 10 rerun election.
The police panel set up by the Inspector General of Police, Ibrahim Idris, to investigate electoral and some other offences, had on Tuesday in Abuja displayed N111million cash allegedly recovered from 23 INEC officials as bribe allegedly offered them by the Rivers State government to compromise the legislative re-run polls in the state.
However, Senator Makarfi, speaking on the matter when the Strategy Review and Inter-party Committee of the PDP headed by Professor Jerry Gana submitted its report in Abuja, on Wednesday, made mockery of the report and described it as some sort of magic.
Makarfi who during the occasion called for prayers for ailing President Muhammadu Buhari said, “What is happening in Rivers State reminds me of the work of magicians. How can the Police display money and claim that it was from bribe given by the PDP? We could have also brought money. What if the police and the security agencies were also compromised? Was their money not recoverable?
“We specialise in bastardising institutions yet we want them to do well. It will not work. We started by bastardising the judiciary now it is the electoral body. It will not work. It is either we do the right thing or the right thing will be done to us.
Read also: No need updating Nigerians about Buhari’s health, he’s absolutely fine –Lai
“We must stand for institutional reforms. What we have now is that institutions are serving those in office. We can never get it right if they do not serve the people of Nigeria. If we do not do away with this practice, these nonsensical things will continue. We must free these institutions from serving those in office.”
Rivers State PDP Publicity Secretary, Mr. Samuel Nwanosike, has also described the money evidence as primary school drama and called on the police to reveal the individuals in the Rivers government that offered the bribe as well as come up with pictures of where and when the money was given to the INEC officials.
Meanwhile, the state’s All Progressives Congress (APC) in a statement by its Publicity Secretary, Mr Chris Finebone, on Wednesday called for the prosecution of those indicted by the panel constituted by the IG on Rivers re-run elections.
‘’We feel a sense of vindication over repeated alarm we raised before, during and after the general and re-run elections of 2015 and 2016 that Wike bribes electoral officials before and during every election in Rivers State,” APC said.
RipplesNigeria… without borders, without fears
Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates
Join the conversation
Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism
Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.
As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.
If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.
Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.
INVESTIGATION: In Kwara, multimillion-naira milk processing plant is abandoned, converted to a chicken outlet
After the government spent millions of naira to establish a milk processing plant in Kwara State that would provided jobs...
SPECIAL REPORT: For Sokoto communities, promise of healthcare is akin to death sentence
In this story, ABDULRASHEED HAMMAD delves into the dire realities of Primary Health Care services in Sokoto State, shedding light...
ICYMI…SPECIAL REPORT: NNPCL hides behind PIA to frustrate disclosure, accountability
Nigeria’s major oil company, Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation Limited (NNPCL), in what appears to be a common practice of disregard...
INVESTIGATION: Multi-million naira Ekiti resort center remains uncompleted a decade after
The multimillion-naira project, expected to comprise recreational buildings, now consists of cassava farmland, a bush used for excretion, and a...
SPECIAL REPORT: Torturous experiences of students with disabilities in Oyo tertiary institutions
For students with disabilities in Oyo state-owned tertiary institutions, learning is a torturous and distressing experience, considering the building structures...
Animashaun Ayodeji
February 9, 2017 at 10:30 am
Honestly, this looks like some magic professor Peller used to perform during his time. The election was held on December 10 and we are in February, how did they unearth the 111 Million Naira in cash? Are they trying to tell us the INEC officials collected the bribe and kept them in one place?
Margret Dickson
February 9, 2017 at 10:50 am
Since the cash was truly recorvered, that means INEC set PDP up to make it seem the body cannot be compromised. But then, since they collected the money and the report claimed police recovered the money from INEC, it means INEC officials were compromised. The body should be sanctioned for collecting the money without raising alarm
JOHNSON PETER
February 9, 2017 at 11:12 am
This is incredibly funny. But I am not concerned about the magic but the #111m, at least that can be used to help the economy as palliative measures to the ongoing recession. Kudos to the magical police for unearthing the money from any where they got it from .
Amarachi Okoye
February 10, 2017 at 12:22 am
No kudos to the magical police because they are all thieves and can not be trusted
Roland Uchendu Pele
February 9, 2017 at 11:18 am
The Police must have been carrying out their investigation into the matter. This could be the reason why they are just releasing their findings in February since the December 10 elections. It’s reasonable.
yanju omotodun
February 9, 2017 at 11:49 am
Hmmmmm. There is more to this. I want Wike to speak up before I know what to say. And hope the Nigerian police haven’t remove parts of the money. Because our Nigerian police are not too truthful ,the money could be more than that.
Balarabe musa
February 9, 2017 at 12:43 pm
Pdp are extremely corrupt, see such huge amount of money they used to bribe their way into the INEC. But when are we going to have a corrupt free Independent electoral commission as well? Baba buhari must see to this.
Joy Madu
February 10, 2017 at 12:15 am
Even if he see he will do nothing but to support them