Ezekwesili: We Raised N48.9m, $17,645, £200 for My Campaign

Former presidential candidate of the Allied Congress Party of
Nigeria (ACPN), Dr. Oby Ezekwesili, has retired her campaign funds,
accounting for “every penny” spent.

The former vice-president of the World Bank, in a detailed
breakdown of income and expenditure, said the campaign raised
N48,957,416.00, $ 17,645.00, and £200, from October 1, 2018 to
February 2, 2019.

She also revealed that her campaign spent over N12 million on
travels, N10.6 million on media and publicity, and another N15.3
million on “campaign mobilisation fees, meeting and logistics
costs.”

In total, her campaign, according to TheCable, spent
N46,521,806.19 in running its activities for the 2019 presidential
campaign, which was aborted about a month to the eventual poll.

The spokesperson of the Obiageli Ezekwesili Presidential
Campaign Organisation, Ozioma Ubabukoh, said via a press statement
that she withdrew from the race to build a veritable coalition.

“This decision followed extensive consultations with leaders
from various walks of life across the country over the past few
days. I deem it necessary for me to focus on helping to build a
veritable coalition to ensure a viable alternative to the APC and
PDP in the forthcoming elections,” Ubabukoh had said.

The ACPN, on the other hand, said the former minister of
education, and former vice-president of the World Bank, was only
seeking to be finance minister — and never took her campaign
seriously.

“The reason for calling this press conference is to let the
world know about the presidential aspiration of Dr. Oby Ezekwesili,
which in actual fact, is not the truth.

I have been put into confidence by one of her aide named
Iyinoluwa Aboyeji that she only wanted to use the platform of the
ACPN to negotiate to be Nigeria’s finance minister,” Ganiyu
Galadima, Ezekwesili’s running mate and ACPN chairman, said.

Ezekwesili said she regrets joining the party, adding that she
thought they shared the same values she holds dearly.

After her exit, the party went on to endorse incumbent President
Muhammadu Buhari for a second term.