Allegations of bribery and inducement have trailed a rally of the Labour Party in Agbor, Delta State, as images of local leaders of the party handing cash to attendees have materialized. This was as more founding members of the party raised an alarm that the candidate, who joined from the PDP, has turned the campaign into a ‘business venture’ for personal enrichment.
The images from Agbor, which showed mobilizers of the Labour Party distributing cash to a crowd, punctured Obi’s repeated claim of ‘not giving shishi’ which translates to not basing his support on financial motivations. According to some eyewitness accounts, similar other rallies were ‘sponsored’ by the Obi group in a bid to portray ‘large following’ in the region.
Meanwhile, the disquiet in the Labour Party over Obi’s controversial decision to divert all financial donations to a private account unknown to the party has grown, with more members protesting the decision as indicative of the former Anambra governor’s intent to use the campaign as a means to grow his personal fortunes.
“For Obi, this campaign is nothing more than another NEXT supermarket. An opportunity to make money. A business venture. Otherwise, why the crazy decision to channel all public donations to a private account only he is a signatory to? Is that how to run a campaign, let alone the presidency,” one of the members who requested anonymity for fear of reprisals told PODIUM REPORTERS.
“The truth is that we have been filling rallies with paid attendees. Just because we don’t want our online supporters to be disheartened if the truth comes out that the online hysteria is not an accurate depiction of reality. Yet this man wants to cart away all the financial donations. It’s really sad,” another said.