I donated N5m to APC after Ngige asked for help in 2014 -Ekweremadu

Ike Ekweremadu, deputy senate president, says he gave the All Progressives Congress (APC) N5 million to help it gain grounds in 2014.

Addressing his constituents in Enugu on Sunday, Ekweremadu said he extended the gesture because Chris Ngige, minister of labour and productivity, asked him for the “help”.

Various political parties came together to form the APC merger in the bid to unseat the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2015.

Ekweremadu said the APC would not have emerged victorious in the election had the PDP and former President Goodluck Jonathan been repressive.

“The beauty of democracy is the enlargement of the political space in which everybody is free to participate, bring and exchange ideas, and disagree in order to agree. But we are not seeing that today,” he said.

“I will tell you something that is going to shock you. In 2014 when APC started, they wanted to register members in Enugu state. Senator Chris Ngige called me and said they were having problem registering members in Enugu State, and asked if I help them. I was the deputy president of the senate in the PDP, but I gave them N5 million. Ngige is still my witness.

“During that 2015 election, one lady came to me and said she wanted to run against me on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) and she needed my support. I said okay, I will start by paying for your nomination form because I believe every party must be given a chance. She lost the election, but I later helped to secure a political position for her.

“Just yesterday, I also got a call from a man who introduced himself as an engineer from Achi, but lives in Jigawa. He later came with his family to tell me that he wanted to run for the senate in Enugu west. I congratulated him and offered to help purchase his nomination form. But he told me he had already bought his form. He was surprised when I offered to buy form for him. As far as I am concerned, all power belongs to God.”

Ngige could not be reached for comment as his telephone line was switched off when TheCable attempted to reach him on Monday.