Jonathan defers inauguration of campaign committee over sister’s death, PDP explains N21b fund

THE death of the younger sister to President Goodluck Jonathan, Nancy Jonathan-Olei has forced the postponement of the inauguration of presidential campaign committee scheduled for yesterday. It would now hold today at 11 a.m.

 Presidential Political Adviser, Prof. Rufa’i Ahmed Alkali yesterday conveyed the news at the venue of the inauguration at the Legacy House Presidential Campaign Headquarters, Maitama, Abuja, which was scheduled to begin at 2 pm.

  Mrs. Jonathan-Olei died earlier Sunday in the afternoon, according to a statement from the Presidency on Sunday night at a hospital in Bayelsa State following an undisclosed “brief illness.”

  But the news of the postponement took a lot of people by surprise given that a lot of dignitaries were already waiting for the arrival of the President. Alkali, while announcing the shift said, Alkali said; “As you are all aware, His Excellency lost his sister, Mrs. Nancy Jonathan-Olei, Sunday morning.”

  Alkali said that the postponement was due to the death of Jonathan’s younger sister, Mrs. Nancy Jonathan-Olei, on Sunday. “In view of this he has decided to suspend this inauguration for today until tomorrow at 11 a.m. Mr. President has asked me to convey his apologies for the inconveniences this postponement has caused, and to tell you it was due to circumstances beyond our control.”

  Mrs. Jonathan-Olei passed away earlier yesterday at a hospital in Yenagoa after a brief illness. She was 52 years old.

  Meanwhile, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Monday in Abuja explained the purpose for which the over N21 billion it generated from the fund raising dinner it held two weeks ago in Abuja was meant to serve.

  Refuting claims that the money was solely to finance its Presidential campaigns for the February 4 presidential election, the Chairman of the party’s Fund Raising committee, who also serves as the PDP Mobilisation and Contact committee chairman, Professor Jerry Gana yesterday said that the fund was raised to enable the party fund some of its projects.

Among the projects, according to Gana, is the multi-billion-naira permanent headquarters building project in Abuja, which now required some N10. 5 billion to be completed.

Gana lamented that PDP critics had been spreading false stories regarding the motive behind the fund.

 He said: “This administration of the party under our able Chairman, Ahmadu Adamu Muazu, resolved that we must complete this project so that we can move here and so part of the preparations for this year’s campaign is for us to raise funds and I had the honour of leading a very distinguished team of Nigerians to prepare for the fund raising.

  “We raised about N21billion on that day and the purpose of this press conference is to say that right from the start, we were raising money for the PDP and the projects of the party. The documents and letters said so, the speeches confirmed it and during the day of the fund raising, in my own speech and the speech of the Vice President who happens to be an architect, there was a specific focus on this building that this is one project we want to complete.”

Gana continued, “The VP being an architect gave graphic details of where we were on this project and how we desired to go ahead and therefore, the central aim of the fund raising is to empower the party to complete this building and other projects.

The second is of course to empower the party to campaign for its candidate not for the President alone but for others and the Presidential candidate has the right and he is going to use that his right to raise fund for his campaign quietly.

“I am not the chairman of that fund raising team but I am sure the president will appoint somebody and I am sure they are already working hard and being a humble Nigerian, he wants to do it quietly and people will donate to him, people who believe in his victory as the candidate of the PDP.

So, we want to make it clear that the money raised was for the PDP and a substantial part of it will be for the completion of this building.”