National chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Senator Iyorchia Ayu has cleared the air on allegations of bribery to the tune of N19 billion levelled against him by Rivers State governor, Nyesom Wike.
This is even as he warned the governor to keep his (Ayu’s) family out of party affairs.
Wike had in a live media chat on Friday, reiterated earlier allegations that Ayu received N1 billion bribe from a presidential hopeful. He also accused the party chairman of collecting N100 million each from separate sources for a project at the party’s democratic institute, adding that Ayu’s children will not want to be associated with him if they knew of all his shady dealings.
But speaking at the end of a meeting of the party’s board of trustees in Abuja, Ayu refuted the claims, saying loans were taken from a bank — owned by a PDP member at the time — to address the party’s “funding difficulties”.
“…I want to make it clear that at no time did I, as the national chairman of the party, collect any N1 billion from anybody.”
He explained that he came in, the party had funding difficulties and the presidential candidate suggested that a loan from the bank, the owner of which was a member of the party, but who has now left the party.
He said all money advanced to the party was declared before the NWC and handed over to the national treasurer, adding that “all our accounts are up to date and we promised to publish the accounts at the end of the year.”
On allegations of collecting N100 million from a sitting governor and the party for the institute, Ayu said, “…I fully briefed the BoT that one of our governors made a contribution of N100 million for the revival of the PDI (Peoples Democratic Institute), which was housed in a portacabin, and I explained to them that we hired an appropriate place in Asokoro. We have furnished it; renovated it.”
He said the NWC had already written the governor “to come and inspect what we have done with his contribution.”
