The African Democratic Congress (ADC) has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to investigate alleged cash and gift distributions by All Progressives Congress (APC) officials at political events.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Phrank Shaibu, director
of strategic communication for the ADC presidential campaign council, urged the
EFCC and INEC to urgently examine the reported distributions and publicly
disclose the steps they would take.
He accused the ruling party of attempting to manufacture
support for President Bola Tinubu through financial inducements.
The call followed the circulation of a video showing Imaan
Sulaiman-Ibrahim, minister of women affairs and social development,
distributing bundles of cash and APC-branded wrappers to women at a campaign
event in Rivers state.
In the 45-second video shared on TikTok by Move with Imaan,
an account documenting the minister’s activities, Sulaiman-Ibrahim is seen
handing out bundles of cash and a bale of wrappers bearing the APC logo to
women at the gathering.
The video also showed the minister distributing cash in
envelopes bearing images of Tinubu and Vice-President Kashim Shettima, with
each woman appearing to receive a bundle of N1,000 notes.
‘THE PATTERN IS BECOMING IMPOSSIBLE TO IGNORE’
Shaibu alleged that the distribution of money and gifts at
political gatherings was an attempt to buy public support amid economic
hardship.
“The pattern is becoming impossible to ignore. From reports
of luxury vehicles presented to APC women leaders, to cash and cooked food
distributed by the President’s son through the City Boy Movement, and now
videos circulating of an APC women leader handing out money and fabrics, the
ruling party appears to be treating political support as something that can be
bought,” the statement reads.
The ADC campaign council spokesperson said the alleged
distributions were particularly insensitive at a time when millions of
Nigerians were struggling to afford food, transportation and other basic
necessities.
He also questioned why ordinary Nigerians had faced
sanctions over alleged naira abuse while political operatives appeared to be
distributing cash at campaign events.
“The same authorities that have pursued ordinary Nigerians
over alleged abuse of the Naira must explain why apparent cash distribution by
political operatives at campaign events should be treated differently,” he
added.
“The EFCC and INEC must investigate these incidents and take
appropriate action wherever electoral or currency laws have been breached.”
Shaibu accused the Tinubu administration of worsening
economic hardship, rising insecurity and public debt, arguing that cash and
gifts could not erase the difficulties faced by households.
“After three and a half years of economic hardship, rising
insecurity and mounting public debt, the APC has little to show Nigerians,” he
said.
“Its answer is to display cash and gifts at political
events, as though a brief handout can erase the daily struggle families face or
buy their votes.”
He further accused the administration of pushing millions of
Nigerians deeper into poverty and questioned the scale, terms and use of
government borrowing.
He maintained that political support could not be secured
through financial inducements, insisting that Nigerians would determine the
outcome of the next election through their votes.
“No amount of money can compel Nigerians to endorse a
government that has made life harder for them. The people’s votes are not for
sale, and no manufactured crowd can substitute for their verdict at the ballot
box,” he said.
“President Tinubu has failed Nigerians. No cash handout can
buy back their trust.”
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