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The All Progressives Congress (APC) has reacted to a report by Premium Times which exposed how the party asked its governors to contribute up to N6 billion for its upcoming congresses and convention, despite being behind on salaries and pensions of workers.
According to the report, the the 24 state governors under on the APC are expected to pay N250 million each. The party’s decision was reportedly conveyed to the governors during a meeting at its national secretariat in Abuja on Wednesday.
But on Saturday, spokesman of the party, Bolaji Abdullahi, described the report as a misrepresentation of the actual directive.
He explained that the N250 million per governor may be the total of party dues owed by a governor since inception.
His statement said: “At the meeting of the National Working Committee and the governors of the party held at the party secretariat on Thursday 26 April, it was pointed out that many of the governors have fallen behind in the payment of their party dues.
“While some of the governors have been up-to-date with the payments, a few others have not paid at all. The governors were therefore requested to pay up, especially in view of upcoming party activities.
“It is therefore possible that a governor that falls in the category of those that has not paid since inception could be owing up to N250 million”.
He continued: “For avoidance of doubts, party dues are paid by all members of the party holding positions, either by election or appointment. Therefore, members of the National Assembly as well as cabinet ministers also remit a percentage of their earnings to the party.”
However, Premium Times, on Saturday, said it “stands by its story based on the evidence already obtained from party insiders who disclosed details of the meeting under anonymity.”
The online news medium stated further that: “The N250 million governors are being asked to pay is a lump sum that party officials say would be needed for their upcoming activities, which also include the election of new state and national executives.
Some state governors had already paid, while several others are still sourcing for funds, PREMIUM TIMES learnt.”
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