Information minister Lai Mohammed says it will be impossible for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to loot the national treasury if it wins the 2023 presidential election.

Mr Mohammed said this in an interview on Thursday in Arusha, Tanzania.

The minister was reacting to reports that members of the National Working Committee of the PDP returned N122.4 million paid into their accounts by the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu.

Mr Ayu allegedly paid more than N100 million to the NWC members following the party’s primaries. It was alleged that the money was from the more than N10 billion realised by the party from nomination fees paid by aspirants.

“if a man can steal from himself, he will steal without any restraint from other people. The problem is that PDP will never change, and like they say, a leopard will never change its spots,” Mr Mohammed reasoned. “When PDP lost elections in 2015, they admitted that they had learnt their lessons, but obviously, they have learnt nothing. God forbid, if they ever have access to (the) public purse again, they will leave no kobo there.”

The information minister and a chieftain of the APC added, “We know what we met when we assumed office in 2015. We are still wailing about it. “We hope Nigerians have now seen from this scandal the intention of PDP if they ever have access to the public treasury.’’

Mr Mohammed said certain questions should be raised about the scandal, including what informed the payment in the first place and if it was the first time such money was paid. He also said the party should be questioned about the source of the money and whether it was from the slush fund it had in its possession.

He recalled that no fund was ever paid into his account as a member of NWC of the then Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) and later APC.

“Never did I remember that any form of money, call it, accommodation, or whatsoever, was ever paid into the account of any member of the NWC of either ACN or APC,’’ he said.

The minister is in Arusha for the 65th meeting of the United Nations World Tourism Organisation (UNWTO)’s Commission for Africa and a forum on ‘Rebuilding Africa’s Tourism Resilience for Inclusive Socio-Economic Development’.

(NAN)