The Kwara State branch of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Monday, alleged that its members’ signatures were forged in the petition to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC against Mrs Toyin Saraki.
Speaking in Abuja, through its Publicity Secretary, Mr. Kola Olawoye, the party insisted that its members were not privy to the alleged petition against the wife of the Senate President.
Olawoye said neither him nor PDP had anything to do with the petition accusing Toyin of money laundering as the first lady of Kwara State.
He added that his signature on the petition was forged, while the authorship credited to PDP was pure impersonation.
Olawoye disclosed that PDP in the state called an emergency meeting on Monday to discuss the forgery and fashion ways out, on how to redress the situation.
The party spokesperson stated that it was high time the party tamed the monster of forgery and impersonation that certain people are always dragging it into, in the politics of the state, adding that the current situation was the second time such would be rearing its head.
Quoting Olawoye:” I have nothing to do with the petition. You know over time, I have built myself certain level of reputation because I am almost 30 years in the business of politicking. They just wanted to use a credible name, that is the truth and nothing but the truth. What happened is that there are some people in the corner of their room who wrote the petition and put my name on it and the media bought it.
There was never any time as the publicity secretary of the party that I endorsed or authorised that any petition should be sent to EFCC. That was not the first time they would write, there was a time they wrote that our party and particularly me as the spokesperson wrote that the governor of Kwara State used only N1.5 billion of the package from the federal government for salaries and carted away about N2 billion. “Then I decided to allow sleeping dog lie but now that they are doing it again, it is time for me to react. Media managers should try to authenticate sources of information and clear with such sources before using such information. When names are mentioned, media houses should verify with such persons to get to the heart of the matter truthfully.
“I am saying emphatically that PDP and I have nothing to do with this petition. There could be people with scores to settle with the senate president or his family and writing in a corner against them, but for us in PDP in Kwara, we consider as golden, politics without bitterness and we believe that there is no permanent enemy in politics.
“Even in Nigerian politics, you can see that there is no permanent enemy again. When it is time for us to go out as a credible opposition to this government, we would come out. When the government is taking anti-developmental steps, we would come out against them but we won’t malign anyone’s character and we won’t allow anyone to use our names to damage anyone. When you have the courage to write such petition, you should have the bravery and audacity to stand by it.
” This morning the caucus of the party is meeting to fish out the writer and decide what to do about him”.
