PDP accepts probe of hacking into President Buhari's data by Cambridge Analytica in 2015 election

macfranc007 April 02, 2018 Nigeria News today & Breaking news ▷ Read Naija news 24/7 Akinyemi Akinrujomu

- PDP says it welcomes an open investigation into the Cambridge Analytica saga provided it also covered APC's campaign funds at the elections

- The opposition party says the ruling APC was only trying to use the investigations to divert attention away from pressing public issues about President Buhari's handling of economy and more

- The party also denied that any of its members, including ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, was involved the Cambridge Analytica matter

The Peoples Democratic Party has dismissed chances of being found guilty in investigations into the alleged hacking into the personal record of the then presidential candidate Muhammadu Buhari during the 2015 elections.

The Punch reports that the party said in a statement on Sunday, April 1 that it welcomes an open investigation into the Cambridge Analytica saga.

The opposition party however also demanded that the probe should be extended to the sources of the funds used to prosecute APC’s own campaigns in the same elections.

According to PDP’s National Publicity Secretary Kola Ologbondiyan, the APC is just trying to divert attention from its alleged “manifold failures and scandals.”

He said: “It is also public knowledge that the document being relied upon by the APC clinically stated that, ‘there is no suggestion that Jonathan knew of the covert operation.’

“We are therefore aware that this new agenda is to divert public attention from the various scandalous allegations hanging on the neck of the Buhari Presidency, including the use of looted funds to finance his 2015 presidential election, the Martin Luther Kings award saga, the damaging Bill Gates verdict on the Buhari’s economic policies, as well as the numerous financial scandals in the NNPC under his watch.

“This inquest should therefore be completely open and independent of government control, so that Nigerians will know the truth, not only on the Cambridge Analytica saga, but also on the source of funds for the President’s 2015 campaign and other sleazes under his watch.”

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The PDP's statement comes the same day NAIJ.com reported that the Federal Government of Nigeria had set up an in-house committee to investigate the activities of the data mining firm, Cambridge Analytica, during the country's general elections in 2007 and 2015.

The committee is to find out whether Cambridge Analytica’s work for the then ruling party, the PDP in 2007 and 2015 elections campaigns broke the laws of Nigeria or infringed on the rights of other parties and their candidates.

The Cambridge Analytica was alleged to have swiped the data of more than 50 million Facebook users to sway elections in many countries including Nigeria, where it waged a campaign to perpetuate discord and hack into personal records of the then leading opposition candidate, Muhammadu Buhari.

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