Revealed: Goodluck Jonathan Under Fire as EFCC Probes His Campaign Fund

Former President of Nigeria, Goodluck Ebele Jonathan

 

Goodluck Ebele Jonathan might be in for surprises next year as the controversy surrounding the arms deal scandal might reach a peak. The Federal Government through the EFCC has commenced probe into his campaign funds. 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has extended its investigation into the arms procurement scandal to the 2015 presidential campaign funds of former President Goodluck Jonathan, Punch reports. 

 

According to the report, the decision to probe the campaign funds was as a result of fresh discoveries that more chieftains of the party got funds from the office of the National Security Adviser, specifically for the Peoples Democratic Party’s presidential campaign.

 

A former Minister of State for Finance, Ambassador Bashir Yuguda, was reported to have given N600m to six chairmen of the contact and mobilization committee of the PDP in the 2015 elections. 

 

He was reported to have listed George (South-West); Yerima Abdulahi (North-East); Peter Odili (South-South); and Attahiru Bafarawa (North-West) as beneficiaries of the funds. Yuguda, in a statement made to the EFCC, said the money was for the 2015 general elections.

 

Bafarawa, a former Governor of Sokoto State, has since admitted receiving N100m. George has since denied the that he received N100m from Dasuki.

 

In a write-up titled, ‘Hack writers and the contempt for truth’ on December 9, 2015, the PDP leader said, “Again, I hereby restate forcefully that I neither collected nor solicited one farthing from Dasuki or anybody else. Throughout his tenure as National Security Adviser, I never met Dasuki except once or twice when he came to brief members of the national caucus.”

 

However, George came out in the open on December 13, to admit that he received $30,000 (N5.9m) and not N100m from Yuguda. George said, “Yuguda gave me $30,000 to share among ourselves. Each person received $1,500 including myself.

 

“We held a series of meetings in Lagos and the money was used to settle hotel bills, transport and sittings. So, I don’t know what Yuguda is talking about. If the money that was given to us was stolen, how was I supposed to know?”

 

The three delegates that represented Lagos were George; a former Minister of Works, Senator Adeseye Ogunlewe; and a former Minister of Communications, Maj. Gen Tajudeen Olanrewaju (retd.), it was learnt. Ogunlewe revealed that the money they received was meant for the committee.

 

He said, “They (Peoples Democratic Party) set up a committee; a reconciliation committee after the primaries in the run in to the 2015 general elections. The function of the reconciliation committee was to go all over South-West and persuade all those who were aggrieved and bring them back into the party. Hence, is that sharing of money?”

 

However, a top official of the EFCC, has revealed that despite the denials and ‘half truths’ by some of the suspects, findings by the commission showed that other sums, apart from the initial N600m, were diverted into the campaign fund from the NSA office.

 

He said, “The commission is looking into the funding of the presidential campaign of the former president. Some of the money that was spent came from the NSA office.

 

“We have been looking into the bank accounts of those involved in the PDP campaign fund and more names will be revealed in the coming weeks. Yuguda was not the only person that shared the campaign funds and the money involved was more than N600m.

 

There are strong links between the campaign fund and the NSA’s office.”