Osun Accord Members Protest Alleged Non-payment of N50m Campaign Fund

Members and supporters of the Accord Party in Osun State have protested the alleged non-disbursement of a N50m mobilisation fund reportedly allocated to the party for the recent PBAT Door-to-Door Movement programme in the state.

The protest followed allegations that party leaders withheld funds meant for mobilising various support groups and other participants who took part in the programme.

According to a report by The Punch, Sunday PUNCH gathered that N100m was budgeted for the mobilisation of different interest groups within the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Accord Party for the inauguration programme, with each party allegedly allocated N50m.

An organiser of the event, who spoke on condition of anonymity, disclosed that the funds were intended to mobilise supporters of the two political parties.

“I know that N50m was allocated to each of the two parties to mobilise their supporters,” he said.

However, an aide to Governor Ademola Adeleke, who also spoke anonymously, alleged that a support group he mobilised for the programme had yet to receive any payment.

“Our support group was asked to mobilise members, but they haven’t received a kobo,” the aide stated.

Similarly, a member of the National Association of Nigerian Students, South-West, expressed dissatisfaction over the alleged failure to pay students mobilised for the event.

The student leader, who declined to be named, accused the Accord leadership of withholding the funds.

“The PBAT Door-to-Door rally was another eye-opener to the kind of selfish and greedy leaders we have in this so-called Accord. The organisers decided to split the mobilisation between the APC and Accord.”

“Till now, Accord leaders are yet to pay us, nor explain the reason for the delay,” he said on Saturday.

Reacting to the allegations, the Osun State Coordinator of the PBAT Door-to-Door Movement, Timothy Olanrewaju, told Sunday PUNCH that the mobilisation funds had been released.

He urged those protesting the alleged non-payment to hold their party leaders responsible, insisting that the money had been disbursed.

“Those people protesting should hold their leaders responsible. The fund was released to them. I, as the central coordinator, was not even given any slot. My own mobilisation was also part of the APC slots.

“The calculations we made were N80,000 per bus and N10,000 for each person in an 18-seater bus. The 5,000 people we were expecting from Accord were not even up to that, if not for the extra mobilisation from our own end,” Olanrewaju disclosed.

Meanwhile, the Osun State Chairman of the Accord Party, Pastor Victor Akande, said he was unaware of the alleged controversy, stressing that the funds did not pass through him.

Akande, who spoke with Sunday PUNCH on Saturday, added that no party member had formally approached him with a complaint over the matter.

“I am not aware of the funds. I wasn’t part of the committee. Also, if money was released, I believe those who mobilised ought to have received their money by now,” he stated.

Credit: The Punch