S’West PDP Condemns Arraignment  of Faboyede, Ondo Chairman

By Bennett Oghifo
 

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) has condemned the arraignment in a High Court in Lagos, yesterday, of the Chairman of the Party in Ondo State by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for alleged laundering of N500 million, stating that it was the Party that was being tried.

“We note the arraignment of Engr Clement Faboyede, PDP Chairman, Ondo State alongside Akogun Tokunbo Modupe, who was the Coordinator of President Goodluck Jonathan Campaign Group in our State,” said a statement issued yesterday by PDP’s Zonal Publicity Secretary, South West, Ayo Fadaka. “It is imperative to clearly underscore the fact that the N500 million upon which this case is built is the campaign fund released by the Party to the Ondo State PDP through the Fidelity Bank and not in any manner a fraudulent issue.

“It was these gentlemen who signed and withdrew the money on behalf of the Party and this is the reason why the EFCC is prosecuting them,” the statement said.

The PDP said, “While we are not interested in the politics surrounding this matter, we however wish to state categorically that the APC is merely abusing the privileges of power to persecute the PDP endlessly, this we consider pedestrian and cheap.

“We reiterate very firmly that these gentlemen are no criminals as they only acted on behalf of the Party, it is the PDP that is on trial here and as a Party, we continue to repose confidence in the ability of the judiciary to adjudicate on this matter.”