APC Dismisses Claim FIRS Financed Buhari/Osinbajo 2019 Election

The All Progressives Congress (APC) has described as baseless allegations that the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) sponsored the re-election of President Muhammadu Buhari and Yemi Osinbajo.

Naija News reports that the Federal Inland Revenue Services, FIRS, had nullified claims by former spokesperson of the APC, Timi Frank, that it supported the party’s political campaign with the sum of N40bn.

Recall that the party former spokesman had earlier accused FIRS of supporting APC campaigns with the sum of N40bn and N90bn at different periods through Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo.

It, however, described Frank’s allegation as “wicked, malicious and a calculated attempt” to smear its image and that of the Vice President.

In a statement signed by Head, Communications and Servicom Department, Wahab Gbadamosi, FIRS insisted that Frank’s allegation was a campaign of “calumny, vilifying, libellous, unfounded in fact, irresponsible and a brazen assault on the integrity of the Service.”

This online news platform reports that the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) urged the ruling party to come clean on revelations that the N40 billion taxpayers’ money allegedly siphoned from the FIRS and used to finance the 2019 campaigns.

Reacting in a statement to Naija News on Monday by its spokesperson, Lanre Issa-Onilu, the APC described the allegations as hogwash.

The ruling party said the statement by the PDP is an unintelligent and crude attempt at a smear campaign.

“We call on the sponsors of the baseless allegation to resolve their confusion. Last time it was N90 billion, now it is N40billion. We also challenge them to provide evidence from not only FIRS but any other government agency where the APC took one kobo for campaign,” The APC statement reads.

“The matter of dipping hands into public coffers as a matter of official policy ended with PDP. We recall that leaders of the PDP had contemplated changing the name of their party at a time because they were ashamed of their own record of sleaze.

“We, however, refer the PDP and co-peddlers of falsehood to the records of the Federation Accounts Allocation Committee (FAAC) in terms of Cost of Collection accruing to FIRS and indeed the FIRS statement on the subject matter.”