Politics
Secondus Under Fire Over ‘Missing’ PDP Billions
The national chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP Prince Uche Secondus was under fire on Wednesday night following an audit report alleging irregular financial practices in the opposition party.
A memo from the National Auditor, of the party Mai Adamu Mustapha circulated among members of the NWC alleged that billions of naira accruing to the party since the emergence of the NWC cannot be accounted for.
In the memo obtained by GreenWhiteGreen GWG, it was alleged among others that N10 billion generated since the advent of the Prince Secondus led leadership has been unaccounted for. Even more, it was alleged that billions of naira realized from the sale of congress forms and membership cards have not been accounted for.
The allegation is besides irregular award of contracts sometimes allegedly inflated without the knowledge of the NWC. Mustapha pointed out in one case, the award of contracts for the printing of congress forms for N630 million. He said had that particular contract passed through the NWC that it would not have been more than N150 million.
Mustapha who alleged that internal control and the audit system had been broken down under the Secondus leadership of the party in the memo to the NWC affirmed that it was of no use as an opposition party go to battle with a tattered financial image.
His claims were, however, discounted by a senior aide of Prince Secondus and another member of the NWC.
Mustapha in his memo in which was bringing Secondus under fire, said:
THE AUDIT MEMO
“For whatever reasons, there is no access to all financial transactions (cash inflows and outflows) documents Of the party like cashbooks, receipts. vouchers, registers cheques and bank statements etc. all of which are necessary input or pre-audit, due process, internal control, reconciliation as well as to draw up our Final Accounts, and all these necessary inputs are not available to the Audit Department.
“The inability of the Audit Department to discharge its functions has dire consequences to the party being the major opposition party, bearing in mind that this APC Government is vicious and desperate, so any infractions to financial and auditing practice Will be a handy tool to cause dire legal and political embarrassment.
“Honourable members, I have raised these issues and predicaments of the audit department severally in our various NWC meeting but to no avail.
“It is now three years plus, through the tenure of this NWC that there was no one single financial transaction that passed through ‘the Audit from the
inception of this NWC to date, despite the fact that the party have been undertaking financial transactions running into billions.
The public domain knows that the PDP conducted the following from December 2017 to date:
1. Forms were contracted, printed and sold through consultants.
2. Series of procurements and services were transacted and paid.
3. Congress and other activities were conducted and huge expenditures incurred.
4. Consultants were engaged and paid.
5. Statutory disbursement to zones. and states from the proceeds of the sales of forms,
6. Travels were undertaken in and out cf Abuja.
7. Proxy account for the sales of forms is illegal and unconstitutional (Section 55(1-3). The details of the operation of this proxy account was not known to the audit department and members of the NWC. The interest cost of 3% on this account has to be explained.
8. From the incept of this NWC to date over NI0 billion was generated and unaccounted for.
9. Non-competitive contract was assigned to print congress documents at the costs of N630 million. While is believed that the actual cost is much less than N150 million if competitively decided by the NWC.
10. A loan of N500 million was obtained without approval and paid with interest. The constitution section S3(1) and 54(1-4) and 58(L) (a) & (d) this issue was echoed by the Gov. H-E Udom Emmanuel committee on “garnishee” reported to the NEC in November, 2020.
11. Sale of last congress forms and membership cards which is in billions was not accounted for.
Honourable members it will interest you to know that:
a. All the above took place without involving the audit department.
b. There was not any cash/bank reconciliations known to the audit department since department 2017.
c. No fixed assets register maintained that will keep records of all the PDP assets e.g land and building, vehicles, generators, furniture etc.
d. No adequate record of the parties Iiabilitles e.g. utilities, taxes, Insurances and other accruals.
All the above issues were highlighted and copies of my 2017/2018 management reports were issued to the relevant members of the management, voluntarily and nothing has changed.
Upon the above complaints, he thus prayed:
The audit department is in uncomfortable position which is unhealthy for efficient, effective and smooth management of the parry’.
in view of the above I am making this memo to seek for redress.
A senior aide of the national chairman said that Secondus was not under fire over the issue. He rebuffed the allegations on Wednesday night saying “I was at the last NEC and I know for a fact that the national chairman submitted to the party an audit report and it was said that was the first time that an audit report was being prepared and submitted to INEC.
“I can say that for sure because I was there, so I don’t know where this is coming from,” the senior party official said on the condition
A member of the NWC also speaking on the condition of anonymity cognizant of the memo said that there was no where the memo did not say that there was no
“There is nowhere the memo said that there was no approval. What is at issue is that someone is saying that appropriate documentation was not made to him and he has been told how to get the documentation. So, I can say that for this NWC that this is the first NWC where approvals are brought and ratified before execution.”
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