>
Akinwande Soji-Ojo
The director, Diaspora Directorate of the Tinubu-Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Prince Ade Omole, has returned the sum of N2.4 million back into the campaign’s purse.
The money, according to Omole, was the balance of the initial N10 million campaign fund disbursed to the diaspora team in the build-up to the 2023 presidential election.
Omole, who disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abuja, stated that his directorate also submitted an eight-page expenditure file showing a breakdown of the expenses incurred as well as a 22-page campaign report.
While stating that the documents were handed over to the Deputy Secretary of the Presidential Campaign Council, Christopher Tarka, the diaspora director further explained that the documentation detailed their activities during the campaign season and in the build-up to the election.
He also thanked the leadership of the PCC on behalf of the diaspora directorate for the opportunity to serve the “party and country.”
“Importantly, the Diaspora Directorate received only N10 million during the campaign phase. The sum was allocated for Diaspora Directorate members’ transportation but only N7.6 million was disbursed while the balance has been refunded accordingly,” he said.
Reacting, Tarka applauded Omole and his team for their forthright leadership, accountability, transparency and contribution to Tinubu’s victory
Tarka said that he was amazed by the action of the diaspora team because it was unusual to hear campaign directors of political parties returning undisbursed funds.
“Campaign sub-committees usually do not return the money but you have, again, blazed the trail. This directorate took Tinubuism and APC’s Action Plan to the world and donated several campaign souvenirs worth millions of naira from Nigerians across the globe,” he said.
He also recalled that while a number of campaign directorates kept complaining about inadequate funding (and rightly so), the diaspora team has been prudent with their expenses right from day one until the end of the campaign.