DasukiGate: What Myself, Others Got From Anenih—Yakasai

Respected northern leader, Tanko Yakasai, has confirmed that he got N53 million from chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Tonu Anenih, to share with eight other prominent northerners for advocacy.

Yakasai, in an In an exclusive chat with Vanguard on Wednesday, said that, “Yes, myself and 8 others collected N53m from Tony Anenih to pay advocacy visit to prominent northern emirs to mobilise their subjects for a hitch-free 2015 general elections.”

According to him, the money was disbursed to his team by Anenih as their allowances, transportation and accommodation on a tour that took them to 18 states in the north.

He named Alhaji Mamman Anka, Barrister Bitrus Gwada and Alhaji Suleiman Lawal as beneficiaries of Anenih’s largesse.

Others listed were Dr Bahago, John Macklink and Senator Sodangi.

It would be recalled that Yakasai had denied ever receiving financial patronage from the Jonathan administration in an interview with Vanguard.

“I want to make it categorically clear that no officials of the last regime either Mr. Jonathan, his lieutenant, agents, contractors or person having links or relationship with the last administration gave me cash on behalf of that regime,” he had said.

But the Secretary of the Committee, John Mankilik, informed Vanguard yesterday when contacted that “I was in the Committee, he (Yakassai) was the Chairman and I was the Secretary. He never gave me any money except when we were traveling, he only gave us the money we needed for the journey.

“He never told me the source of the money or how he was spending it, he was the one who knew everything, he should explain how he spent whatever was given to him.”