Obi’s crowdfunding portal opens for all Nigerians to donate to campaign
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
“All we are saying is that we are going to have a portal and every Nigerian can go in and make their contributions. What can be more democratic than that?
“If there is a law that opposes that, that law is fundamentally flawed…that law does not deserve the name of law” – Pat Utomi, Labour Party member.
Youths aged 18-35 are 71 per cent and lead all demographics with 8.7 million new registrations for Permanent Voter Cards (PVCs) in Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) data, huge power in their hands to turn the political tables.
Peter Obi is gaining momentum; created by these youths at home and by Nigerians in the diaspora putting in energy, legwork, money, and publicity in their expectation of a political miracle in 2023 to rescue them and Nigeria from the gulag of the cabal.
To build on the momentum, crowdfunding “portals” will be opened “next week or so … to access resources” from all Nigerians, including those in the diaspora, who are willing to donate money, according to Labour Party (LP) member Pat Utomi.
However, Utomi dismissed as untrue allegation by Tinubu-Shettima Connect that Obi, LP presidential candidate, has received $150 million in foreign donations in his consultations with diasporans across Europe, Canada, and the United States.
Tinubu-Shettima Connect, the political organisation of All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential candidate Bola Tinubu and his running mate Kashim Shettima, had asked INEC to disqualify Obi and his running mate Yusuf Ahmed-Baba for allegedly receiving foreign donations.
Tinubu-Shettima Connect made the call after LP National Chairman Julius Abure inaugurated in Abuja a Diaspora Committee of 11 members to raise funds for the Obi Campaign.
Team Tinubu said: “Section 85 of the Electoral Act has clearly explained this; Section 85 (a) (b) provides that any political party that: (a) holds or possesses any fund outside Nigeria in contravention of Section 225 (3) (a) of the Constitution, commits an offence and shall, on conviction, forfeit the funds or assets purchased with such funds to the commission, and in addition, may be liable to a fine of at least N5 million, or (b) retain any fund or other asset remitted to it from outside Nigeria in contravention of Section 225.”
Obi-Datti Media Office scoffed at the allegation made by Tinubu-Shettima Connect.
“Their own understanding of structure is the abundance of looted funds in their kitty that they plan to deploy on hungry Nigerian voters during the election to sway their votes.
“They know nobody has the kind of stolen funds they have and are always uncomfortable at anything suggesting to them that their opponents could match them,” it said.
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Diaspora Nigerians to donate to campaign
Utomi, a professor of political economy, clarified on Channels Television that Obi has not received any donation yet, but “when the time is right, the diaspora will give money,” according to reporting by The Whistler.
“They (Nigerians in the diaspora) have always given money to campaigns. I have run for President before, I got support from the diaspora in 2007 and then in 2011.
“When the time is right, we’re going to solicit obviously from Nigerians across the board.
“These portals are not up yet. They will be up next week or so and eventually we are going to be able to access resources from the diaspora for sure. But right now, we are on sensitisation tour about what makes democracy work.
“Right now, Nigeria’s democracy is not working because of the transaction costs that are involved.
Asked if Obi would not be flouting the law by receiving foreign donations, Utomi argued other political parties have also violated the law by “sharing dollars” at their presidential primaries.
“All we are saying is that we are going to have a portal and every Nigerian can go in and make their contributions. What can be more democratic than that?
“If there is a law that opposes that, that law is fundamentally flawed…that law does not deserve the name of law.”
Utomi denied Obi’s involvement in alleged imposition of charges on Nigerians who attend his diaspora meetings.
“We have been invited to events, we don’t know what the mechanics are. In America the tradition is different (when) some people give breakfast or dinner, they may charge people to come to eat.
“But we’ve not been associated with anything, we just get invited by Nigerian groups and we attend.”
