The Peoples Democratic Party
(PDP) is on another journey to buy goodwill in the the United Arab Emirates
(UAE), The United Kingdom (UK) and other parts of Europe.
According to The Nation
newspaper, the opposition party is leaving no stone unturned to secure victory
at the 2019 elections.
In furtherance of the N388million
lobbying deal that gained Atiku Abubakar, the party’s presidential candidate,
an entry into the United States, the party has now commenced similar process in
UAE and UK.
Although the budget for this new
public relations endevour is not known yet, Osita Chidoka, a former minister of
aviation said the U.S. deal that reportedly earned Atiku his visa after 12
years was to promote free and fair elections.However, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the
National Publicity Secretary of the All
Progressives Congress (APC), says the agreement had sinister motives.He said
spending N388million on such a venture was “a sign of the recklessness which
PDP is noted for”.In the agreement between PDP and Ballard Partners, Inc.
published by SaharaReporters, PDP is expected to pay the firm $90,000 per month
for 12 months.
The lobbying is expected to run
from September 2018 to September 2019.
The agreement was signed by
Chidoka (the PDP Special Advisor) and Brian D. Ballard (the President of
Ballard Partners, Inc.).
It read in part: “This agreement
shall become effective in September 2018 and shall remain effective until
September 20, 2019. This agreement shall automatically renew for successive
one-year period on the anniversary of the effective date of the agreement,
unless either party terminates the agreement. Upon renewal, this agreement may
be terminated within thirty (30) days written notice by either party.
”It shall be the Firm’s duty to
consult with the Client and advocate on its behalf those issues the Client
deems necessary and appropriate before the US Federal government.
“Issues and objectives may
include, but not be limited to enhancement of U.S. Nigerian relations, strengthening
and advancing democratic values and the rule of law in Nigeria, with a special
focus in the coming months on maintaining political and security conditions
free of intimidation and interference in order to ensure the success and
fairness of Nigeria’s national election for president in 2019.
“It shall further be the Firm’s
duty to inform the Client of developments in legislation and policy relevant to
the Client’s issues and objectives.
“It shall be the Client’s duty to
provide the Firm the information necessary to best represent the Client. It
shall also be the Client’s duty to timely compensate the Firm for its
services.”
In its response to the hiring of
the consultant, a statement by the APC read: “The PDP leaders have sinister
motives but they cannot succeed. They are paying huge sums of money to engage
consultants with the sole intention to deceive those abroad and Nigerians again
into submitting our resources by coming back to power.
“We thank God that all their
efforts from the UAE to the UK, the USA and elsewhere in Europe have all ended
in disastrous outcome. The free and fair poll is here in Nigeria, not in the
US. So, they can deceive themselves but they cannot deceive Nigerians.
“Spending N388million on public
relations and lobbying is very reckless and a sign of recklessness which PDP is
noted for. Everything about PDP and its leaders has been driven by
recklessness. Their 16-year reign in government was a reckless enterprise. Nigerians
should watch out, they are spendthrift.
“We know the cash is part of the
money stolen which this APC government is making efforts to retrieve from them.
This is why they think President Buhari should not be re-elected. The February
16 presidential poll is not about who will win; it is about which state will
vote more for President Muhammadu Buhari because PDP has technically pulled out
of the race.”
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