Former Minister of Information, Prof. Jerry Gana, has defended his role in the N500 million loan facility he alleged collected on behalf of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) from Skye Bank.
Special Adviser on Media and Publicity to the National Chairman, Alhaji Inuwa Bwala, last week, threatened to drag the former minister before the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to explain what he used the money for. But Gana, who attended the 55th meeting of the PDP Board of Trustees (BoT) yesterday, said the loan was for the 2014 fundraising, which he was the chairman.
“As chairman of funding raising committee of the party in 2014, the party was not in a position to give the committee takeoff grant,” he explained.
According to the former minister, the Financial Secretary of the party, Alhaji Adewole Adeyanju and the Treasurer, Bala Buhari, who were Secretary and member of the fundraising committee respectively, were aware of the loan and were supposed to have briefed the National Working Committee (NWC) of the loan. Gana explained that the money was meant to organise fundraising dinner, and the loan serviced from the proceeds of the fundraising.
“The NWC refused to refund the loan. The party has enough fund to repay what was taken from the bank. I am not a signatory to any of the account of the party,” he added.
