Yusuf Dantalle, the National Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), has called for an apology from former Vice President Atiku Abubakar after he claimed that opposition leaders were receiving N50 million from the All Progressives Congress (APC) to destabilize their own parties. Atiku made the controversial assertion in a public statement, which has stirred strong reactions from members of the political community.
During a recent appearance on Channels Television’s *Politics Today* show, Dantalle expressed his dissatisfaction with Atiku’s remarks, stating that the allegation was unfounded and damaging. “You (Atiku) may have your information but that is not enough for you to come out and say all members of the opposition have been given N50 million,” Dantalle said. The IPAC leader emphasized that such statements were harmful to the integrity of the political process.
As the leader of IPAC, which represents various political parties in Nigeria, Dantalle categorically denied the claim, asserting that there was no truth to it. “As far as I know, my party is the Allied Peoples Movement and today I manage the umbrella body of all political parties in Nigeria, there is no national chairman or leader anywhere that collected money that I know,” he continued.
Dantalle further criticized Atiku for exacerbating political tension, accusing him of unnecessarily heating up the political atmosphere. “What I expect Atiku to do, with due respect, is to apologise to opposition leaders the same way he made the allegation or he identifies and mentions the opposition leaders who are involved in this rubbish,” Dantalle added.
The IPAC chairman noted that Atiku’s statement had caused a stir among political party leaders across the country. He explained that many of them were upset by the suggestion that they were being bribed by the ruling party. “I have spoken with various chairmen of political parties and they are upset over Atiku’s statement,” Dantalle revealed.
