Obi speaks on rumoured rift with LP leadership over campaign funds

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi has debunked a report which claimed that LP members were at loggerheads with Obi over the diversion of campaign donations to an account tied to Ativo Ltd, a retail payment provider.

Reacting in a statement, Obi’s media office said “there is no iota of truth” in the allegation.

“Our disposition at the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign Organisation has always been not to give any prominence to gutter reports, especially coming from obviously enlisted hirelings, but we are constrained to make an exception in recent reports on social media and other fora, of not only inter-personal rifts between personalities and structures in our stone-cast team because of the premium we place on accountability and transparency as a reformist movement and also to disable any criminal attempts to confuse the public on our official donation platforms,” the statement reads.

“We need to state that there is no iota of truth in such publication, all persons, departments and programmes of the Obi-Datti Campaign and the Labour Party are working in seamless synergy, towards providing a government that will meet the desires of the overwhelming majority of Nigerians, at the next elections.

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“The official payment platforms for those who wish to donate to our cause, are those available on the official website of the Obi-Datti Presidential Campaign website, https://www.obidatticampaign.com, and are perfectly in tune with the law, and designed for swift, secure, effective and transparent transaction.”

The LP presidential candidate’s media office said the outsourcing and use of “the platform of a CAC registered, legitimate and competent Company, Ativo Ltd Quickraiz Collection for the Presidential Fundraiser, was deliberately to encourage transparency, effectiveness and professionalism in the process”.

“We will not for any reason, be distracted by concocted trash from the evil machinations of jittery opponents,” the media office said.

“Our commitment remains unshaken, in setting examples for probity, and in pursuing relentlessly, victory for our popular candidates in the Presidential and indeed, in all the coming elections.”

The media office added that Ativo has also released a statement debunking insinuations that Obi is the owner of Ativo.

“For the benefit of the general public, ATIVO Limited is a fully owned subsidiary of Electronic Payplus Limited that started operation in Nigeria in July 2018 after its incorporation as a corporate entity,” the company was quoted as saying.