PDP Earmarks N6bn For Osun, Ekiti Guber Polls

There are speculations that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has concluded plans to lure voters to elect its candidates in the forthcoming gubernatorial elections in Osun and Ekiti states with N6 billion.

Investigations revealed that the party is relying on President Goodluck Jonathan-led Federal Government, which is desperate to win election in the region in 2015 to actualise the plan as a test-case for the general elections.

The party is set to float cooperative groups among traders and artisans in Osun and Ekiti, with a view to lending them funds for their businesses, in return for their votes in the forthcoming gubernatorial polls in the two states.


It was gathered that the cooperative groups are tailored after that of the State of Osun, but the PDP faction of the group would not be registered with any bank, hence, it would give beneficiaries the mindset of free money.

The Federal Government is mopping up money from circulation by regularly reducing federal allocation to states, as an act of desperation to deal with opposition parties ahead of 2015 polls, particularly the APC states in the South-West, with a view to curtailing developmental projects in the region.

This, findings revealed, remains the only way the PDP-led Federal Government believed it can set the people against the APC in the zone.

In the party thinking, when the PDP starts to doll out money to traders and artisan cooperative groups, the APC would not have any explanation to offer for not making money available to the masses.

Apart from Lagos and Ogun states, the other APC states in the region are at the mercy of the statutory allocation from the federation account, particularly, the State of Osun, which is among the least on the allocation table.

This is due to the deliberate move by the Federal Government to starve it of fund to complete its projects across the state, and, if the plan works out, the PDP would, during its campaign rallies, launch attack on the APC-led administration, alleging it of abandoning projects.

Also, the PDP members in the state in a way have confirmed its national secretariat’s plan by going round the state to tell traders and youths to form groups through which they can benefit from the party’s largesse.

The party in Osun, according to sources close to the secretariat, is banking on the N3 billion per state to win votes and find its way back to power, after dislodging the APC through any means possible.

Part of their strategy is the campaign of calumny it launched against the Independent National Electoral Commission, calling for the sack of the Osun State Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mr Rufus Akeju.