There seems to be a crack within the media directorate of the African Democratic Congress Presidential Campaign Council (ADC-PCC).

The list, which was unveiled on September 24, had former presidential candidate of Labour Party, Chief Dele Momodu, as Deputy General in charge of Media and Communications.

Momodu played the same role in 2023 when Alhaji Atiku Abubakar contested the presidential election on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

Former National Publicity Secretary of the party, Kola Ologbondiyan and Atiku’s Senior Special Assistant on Public Communication, Phrank Shaibu, were named media and publicity and strategic communication respectively.

They are supposed to be working on the directive of Chief Dele Momodu.

Others in the media directorate are Ladan Salihu (Branding); Moji Rhodes-Vvour (Digital and Online media) and David Iyofor (Content Development), while the trio of Kenneth Okonkwo, Keturah King and Nana Kazure, spokespersons.

DAILY GUIDE observed that there is no coordination in the media directorate. Ologbondiyan and Shaibu have been competing among themselves on who that would issue more statements, most times on the same topic, and apparently, without recourse to Chief Momodu who supposed to be their boss.

On Tuesday, Atiku addressed a press conference in Abuja, where he announced his campaign flag off on Wednesday. Dele Momodu was not at the press conference, and neither was Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, the ADC National Publicity Secretary.

This was the third press conferences Atiku has held in the absence of Momodu. They were coordinated by Phrank.

Momodu was said to have been in Lagos since he attended the council’s inauguration on October 9.

Party source blamed it on Atiku, whom he said has not yet realised that he is now ADC candidate.

“How can a candidate address a press conference on the flag off of his campaign without head of his media directorate or the National Publicity Secretary of the party?

“Even the campaign list was released by his private media aide. This is supposed not to be so.

“It is the party, and not the candidate that constitutes presidential campaign council. Bolaji (Abdullahi) should be the one to release the list to the media, not Phrank Shaibu, Atiku’s media aide,” he stated.

According to him, most NWC members got to know the release of the list through Shaibu.

“We were still debating who would be the DG when we saw the list. Who authorised it? I do not know,” he added.

The source could, however, not give reasons why Dele Momodu has chosen to stay in Lagos rather than Abuja to coordinate the media directorate.

“We thought he would be in Abuja last week. May be he has not finished what he is doing there,” he said.

Though, efforts to get reaction from the ADC officials over the issue were not successful.

The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Benue State has demanded an immediate and comprehensive explanation from Governor Hyacinth Alia over the reported N200 billion financial scandal involving his administration, following reports that four senior government officials have been detained and questioned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

PDP called on Alia to immediately address the people of Benue State on the reported N200 billion financial scandal and the circumstances surrounding the detention of four senior officials of his administration.

The party demanded governor Alia’s alleged involvement in the financial transactions under investigation and clarify whether any of the questioned expenditures were authorized by him.

The statement issued by the PDP State Publicity Secretary, Bright Yima Antyo, asked the governor to make public the relevant details of the contracts, payments and financial transactions implicated in the allegations, subject to the requirements of the ongoing investigation.

The statement further demanded that governor Alia should cooperate fully with investigators and ensure that no government official is allowed to obstruct or compromise the investigation.

According to PDP, “This is an allegation of monumental proportions that cannot be dismissed with the usual government propaganda, political theatrics or attempts to shift responsibility, which have become characteristics of the Alia administration. It concerns an enormous amount of public money belonging to the people of Benue State, and the Governor owes them an explanation”

PDP stated that, “More disturbing is the reported allegation that the financial transactions under investigation involve contract inflation, diversion and misappropriation of public funds, with claims that some of the activities were carried out under the Governor’s directives.

“Governor Alia must understand that he cannot preside over the finances of a state, exercise extraordinary control over government accounts and then claim innocence or maintain a convenient silence when allegations of this magnitude emerge”

The statement reads, “Since assuming office on May 29, 2023, Governor Alia has centralized control of the state’s financial operations, locking government accounts and concentrating financial authority within his administration. If, as reported, billions of naira have disappeared through questionable transactions, the Governor must explain how such funds were authorized, released, expended and accounted for.

“The question Benue people are asking is simple: If the Governor has exercised such extensive control over the state’s finances, who should take responsibility for explaining the whereabouts of N200 billion in public funds?”

PDP added, “It is unacceptable that four senior officials of the administration are reportedly in EFCC custody over allegations involving public funds, yet the Governor, who heads the government under investigation, has maintained suspicious silence”

“Is Governor Alia suggesting that such an enormous financial scandal could have happened without his knowledge? Were the contracts awarded without his knowledge? Were the payments authorized without his knowledge? Who approved the transactions, and who benefited from them?

“The Governor cannot impose and enjoy authoritarian powers of controlling the state’s financial machinery while attempting to distance himself from the consequences of decisions taken under his administration.

The statement warned that, “PDP wishes to make it clear that Benue State is not the personal estate of Governor Alia, and its treasury is not his private account. Every naira belongs to the people and must be accounted for. The EFCC must be allowed to investigate these allegations independently, professionally and without political interference.

“Immunity is not a licence to evade investigation. The constitutional immunity granted to a sitting Governor under Section 308 of the 1999 Constitution does not place the occupant of the office beyond the investigative powers of anti-corruption agencies. The provision protects an incumbent Governor from being subjected to civil or criminal proceedings, arrest or imprisonment while in office; it does not prohibit the EFCC or other legally empowered agencies from investigating allegations of financial misconduct involving a governor.

“Investigation and prosecution are two distinct legal processes. Therefore, Governor Alia cannot invoke constitutional immunity as a reason to avoid scrutiny. Where evidence establishes a case to answer, the law provides for prosecution when the immunity ceases to apply.

Governor Alia must stop treating accountability as a matter of choice. Public office is a position of trust, not a shield against scrutiny” PDP said.

Former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, has declared that he will deliver President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Governor Abba Yusuf in Kano in 2027 general elections.

Bello maintained that if necessary he would relocate to Kano and spends two weeks to mobilise massively for Tinubu’s re-election.

The former governor who stated this in Kano during a political event said he was prepared to take the mobilisation campaign beyond political speeches and personally participate in efforts to deliver the two leaders.

“We have a responsibility to mobilise our people and ensure that their votes count. After eight years of President Muhammadu Buhari, who is from the North, President Tinubu has not even completed his first four-year term. Must he complete his eight years before power returns to the North?” he asked.

On his part, Governor Abba Kabir Yusuf said his administration’s commitment to protecting the rights of non-indigenous communities and ensuring their participation in governance.

Yusuf said his administration had appointed special advisers representing Yoruba, Igbo and northern minority communities as part of efforts to promote inclusiveness.