Next Week, For Obi’s Campaign Funds Will Open- Pat Utomi

Next Week, Portals For Obi’s Campaign Funds Will Open. —Pat Utomi

Prof. Pat Utomi, a leader of the Labour Party, LP, has said that portals to allow Nigerians to give money to the campaign of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, will be activated the next week.

The political economy lecturer Utomi revealed this while appearing on Sunday Politics, a program on Lagos’ Channels Television, over the weekend.

He said there was nothing wrong with Nigerians in the diaspora donating funds to political campaigns in Nigeria, adding that he was a beneficiary of such when he contested to be president.

“When the time is right, the diaspora will give money. They have always given money to campaigns. I ran for president before and got support from the diaspora in 2006 and 2007 and then when I ran in 2011.

“When the time is right, we are going to solicit from Nigerians across the board. We are setting up portals where people can give money.

“These portals are not up yet. They would be up next week or so and eventually, we are going to be able to access resources from the diaspora for sure.

”But right now, we are on a sensitization tour about what makes democracy work. Right now, Nigeria’s democracy is not working because of the transaction cost involved and the trade-off that has to be made,” Utomi said.

When asked if giving money from overseas to support political campaigns violated any rules already in place, Utomi responded that nothing should prevent the funding of political rallies from the diaspora.

He said: “I am completely aware of what the law says. If we open a portal, Nigerians who want to support what we stand for should contribute to it.

”If you say Nigerians abroad can’t go to a portal and contribute a dollar and those at home, you have prevented them from voting.

“Every other African country manages to allow their diaspora to vote – Ghana, Kenya, everybody.”