The opposition All Progressives Party on Tuesday accused the Peoples Democratic Party of luring opposition legislators with amounts ranging from $1m to $10m to join the ruling party.
The APC said this in a press statement signed by its Interim National Publicity Secretary, Lai Mohammed.
According to the APC, the PDP is allegedly using public funds to lure back some of the federal lawmakers who have defected from the ruling party to the APC.
The opposition party condemned the act which it described as “a political horse trading carried too far.”
Mohammed said, “The PDP, in an unprecedented show of desperation, has rolled out a mouth-watering enticement package that promises $2m to each senator who returns to the PDP; $1m to each member of the House of Representatives and $10m to each ‘leader’ who abandons the APC for PDP.”
But the APC said there was no cause for alarm, as no amount of inducements would stop the change that was in the horizon, because Nigerians were ready and eager to vote out the PDP next year.
The party noted that the five House of Representatives members who had allegedly taken the PDP’s killer bait and returned to the party were doing themselves a disservice.
But the leadership of the PDP was engaged in a marathon meeting when the APC statement was issued. None of the party leaders was available for comments but a source close to the party leadership described the APC allegation as laughable.
The source said the APC was afraid of the defection. He asked what the APC gave those who defected to it from the PDP.
It was however learnt that the National Publicity Secretary of the PDP, Olisa Metuh, who is also attending the meeting at the national secretariat of the party would respond to the allegations today (Wednesday).
