Former Deputy National Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Chief Olabode George, on Sunday, described former Minister of State, Finance, Bashir Yuguda, as a liar.
Contrary to a report that Yuguda gave George N100 million as head of Contact and Mobilisation Committee of the party in the South-West, the PDP chief revealed, in a statement, that there were 18 members in the committee and Yuguda only gave $30,000 (approximately $1,666 each) to the members for transportation, accommodation and feeding.
George said: “My attention has been drawn to another mischievous and deliberately fraudulent claim that I collected N100 million from Bashir Yuguda, the former Minister Of State for Finance. This is another blatant falsehood, stripped of any iota of truth.
“This is yet again a depraved continuation of lynch mob journalism orchestrated by Sahara Reporters
“The salient fact is that very early this year, long before the election period, the party (PDP) set up Contact and Mobilisation Committee for each zone to reconcile various factions and ensure a firm unity of purpose within the zones before the election.
“I was elected as the Chairman for the South-West zone.
The Committee, made up of 18 senior members of the party with distinguished history of honour and exemplary leadership, met, at least, 10 times in my office in Lagos. “These people travelled all the way from every corner of the South-West, with three members representing each state. All of them are very much alive to testify to my assertions.
“Sometime in the middle of these deliberations, Yuguda came to me and said the party was reimbursing the 18 elders of the Committee for their transportation, accommodation and feeding allowance for the work that was done. The Committee later submitted the report of its deliberations to the party and then wound up.
“For all these efforts, Yuguda gave the Committee only $30,000. That was less than N6 million at that time.
Yuguda can never claim that he gave the Committee N100 million. That is the figment of the imagination of rascally scribblers purporting to be journalists.
“Again, facts are sacred. Journalism is diminished when every tout churns out pure garbage to malign public figures”.
Chief Olabode George.
Atona Oodua of Yorubaland.
