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EXPOSED: Pretty Okafor, Kenny George DUPE, Steals PMAN’s N100million’ …… + The Heritage Bank, Diamond Bank Connections….. Full Details Inside!

Published

7 years ago

on

Says: ‘N12million Kept in Heritage Bank Acct No 0002775335, Lodges N80million in Heritage Bank Acct No. 5100155938 and N2million Kept in Diamond Bank Acct No. 0056423168’

* Narrates How they Fleeced Airtel, MTN, Heritage and Diamond Banks

* Under False Pretences Collect Fund from other Unsuspecting Companies

*Opened Illegal Bank Account in PMAN Name without Authorisation of our Trustees’

* Claims: ‘They Are Fraudsters, Criminals engaging in Money Laundering’

*Petitions Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police to Investigate, Prosecute them

 

DAMING ATROCITIES of two impostors, conmen and alleged fraudsters in the activities of Nigeria’s lull music body, Performing Musicians’ Employers Association of Nigeria (PMAN), Pretty Okafor and Kenny George has exposed how they have been collecting various sums of money from different corporate bodies in Nigeria ‘all in the name of entertainment’. As at the last count, a hefty sum of N100million was discovered to have been deceitfully cornered from Airtel, MTN, Heritage/Diamond Banks aside other firms surreptitiously.

Making this shocking revelation known to Nigerians in a petition addressed to Nigeria’s Inspector General of Police (IGP), Ibrahim Idris by the appointed Chairman, PMAN Caretaker Committee, Kelvin Lucciano Gabriel in a joint referendum unanimously endorsed from the New Caretaker National Committee officially inaugurated by Honorable Minister of Labour and Employment, the document states that “On the 12th of July, 2016, a new National Caretaker Committee of thePerforming Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria – PMAN, was officially inaugurated by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige at the ministry’s office in Abuja. We have enclosed a recent letter from the Labour ministry to that effect, dated 26th July 2016 to buttress this fact and for your better understanding. The new PMAN National Caretaker Committee has been mandated with the responsibility to manage the affairs of the Union pending the conduct of a fresh National Delegate Conference, amongst others.

 

PMAN Trade Union Status

Regarding the trade union status of PMAN, Kelvin explains: “For your further better understanding, PMAN as a trade union was registered in 1984 under the Trade Unions Act and its activities are regulated by the Registrar of the Trade Unions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.”

PMAN intra-union Bickering

Detailing various bickering in PMAN which obviously led to long lull in the association and provides lacuna for impostors to steal, Kelvin states: “For some years now, there has been intra-union bickering and controversy amongst our members which principally centers on leadership tussle. As a result of leadership crisis inherent in the union and to resolve all claims to leadership, the new Caretaker Committee under the Chairmanship of Gabriel Kelvin Lucciano was inaugurated after an elaborate nationwide PMAN referendum and consultations which was submitted to the Registrar of Trade Unions which culminated to the Honourable Minister’s inauguration of the committee on the 12th July 2016.

“As a Trade Union, PMAN has its constitution which stipulates the processes that must be followed to produce a legitimate President that presides over the affairs of the Union. The said processes are contained in Rules 8 of PMAN Constitution. However, Rule 13 (4) may apply if the circumstance arises. This Constitution is subsisting till date. It is on record that the only legitimate executive of PMAN before the ensuing of the current crisis was as a result of the PMAN NDC which was held in Kaduna in 2005 which elected Bolaji Rosiji and subsequently produced, Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli, MFR as the legitimate president of PMAN.

“Owing to the crisis in PMAN, some group of people including one Mr. Pretty Okafor, Mr. Kenny George and Mr. Ibezimako among others instituted a suit before the Federal High Court, Lagos in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/919/2012 and on the 31st day of October, 2014 the Honourable Justice O.E. Abang gave them a consent judgment. The existence of the suit was not made known to the Trustees of PMAN which as at the last known constituted executives of PMAN included Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli, MFR as President and Engineer. George Dureke as 1stVice President as stipulated in Rule 13 of the PMAN Constitution, neither were their consents obtained before the suit and judgment in the name of the Union.”

419 Activities of Pretty Okafor and Kenny George Exposed

Exposing Okafor and Kenny as criminals on prowl all over Nigeria deceiving corporate organisations, the petition reveals: “ “We were amazed that sometime in November, 2014 this same group of people led by one Mr. Pretty Okafor was parading a judgment of the Federal High Court asserting right to the Union’s leadership. We swung into action and discovered that the matter was filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos in 2012 long after the Federal High Court’s powers to handle Trade Union matters was taken away and given exclusively to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. Effectively, federal high courts have no jurisdiction over Trade Union Disputes henceforth.

“We mandated our lawyers to set aside the judgment after which they subsequently filed papers before Justice O.E. Abang drawing the Honourable Judge’s attention to the clear Constitutional provisions as to the limit of the Federal High Court over a Trade Union matters and the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court over all Trade Union matters.

“On the 14th of April, 2016, the said fraudulent consent judgment was set aside by the same federal high court having accepted its lack of jurisdiction while upholding the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nigerian Industrial Court over the matter. With the recent setting aside and voiding of the frivolous claim to presidency of PMAN by Mr. Pretty Okafor, his claims has effectively come to a conclusive end.”

Okafor, Kenny Stole N100million PMAN Fund, Bank Account Revealed

In this petition sent to Nigeria’s IGP, Kelvin detailed how Kenny and Okafor duped, stole and laundered the sum of N100million belonging to PMAN. His words: “Sir, it has also become clear that soon after the so called ‘consent judgment’ Mr. Pretty Okafor and his team embarked on an elaborate plan to scam and defraud the unsuspecting Nigerian corporate community including the following:

Airtel

MTN

Heritage Bank

Diamond Bank etc

“They have subsequently obtained over one hundred million naira from these unsuspecting organizations and many others under false pretences and misrepresentation using the name of PMAN. They have received and laundered the proceeds of their scam through various illegal bank accounts opened in the name of PMAN without the consent and authorization of the trustees of PMAN.

“These fraudulent bank accounts include those they operate at Heritage Bank and Diamond Bank in Lagos. For the purpose of clarity, the following bank accounts have been used by Mr. Pretty Okafor and his accomplices to fraudulently obtain and launder various large amounts of money from corporate organizations using the name of PMAN:

Heritage Bank account number 0002775335 = N12,000,000

2nd Heritage Bank number 5100155938 = N80,000,000

Diamond Bank account number 0056423168 = N 2,000,000

 

“Sir, we the members of the newly inaugurated PMAN Caretaker Committee hereby humbly and graciously plead that your good offices should cease to deal with Mr. Pretty Okafor as the president of PMAN or any other matters relating to the music industry in the name of PMAN. Mr. Pretty Okafor is not and has never been the president of PMAN or any of its committee in any legal manner whatsoever. Mr. Pretty Okafor is in fact not a card carrying member of PMAN.

For your further better understanding, we have attached the following documents:

Full texts of the certified true copy (CTC) of the court ruling setting aside and nullifying the so called consent judgment by Justice Abang touted around by Mr. Pretty Okafor to lay claims to president of PMAN.A recent letter from the Registrar of Trade Unions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment clearly buttressing our assertions on the present state of affairs in PMAN.Photographs of the inauguration of the new PMAN Caretaker Committee by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige on 12thJuly 2016.

“A copy of the petition written to the police by Mr. Harris Ibezim Okeilo who acted as the treasurer to Mr. Pretty Okafor but who has since regretted his role in the fraudulent actions of Mr. Okafor using the name of PMAN to defraud corporate organizations.”

Kelvin’s petition to IGP ended with the following requests: “Investigate and verify the sources of all monies obtained by Mr. Pretty Okafor fraudulently by using the name of PMAN.

Investigate all the bank accounts opened illegally in the name of PMAN by Mr. Pretty Okafor for the sole purpose of laundering the proceeds of his scam from corporate organizations.Get Mr. Pretty Okafor to account for all monies he obtained from all sources by illegally using the name of PMAN

Prosecute Mr. Pretty Okafor for all his criminal acts of obtaining huge sums of money using the name of PMAN.”

As at the time of filing this report, there was no word of reaction from Okafor or Kenny, while we keep monitoring development on this issue.

 

SEE BELOW THE FULL PETITION TO NIGERIA’S INSPECTOR GENERAL OF POLICE

The Inspector General of Police

Police Headquarters

Louis Edet House

Abuja, FCT

 

Dear Sir,

ILLEGAL USE OF THE NAME OF THE PERFORMING MUSICIANS EMPLOYERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA – PMAN TO OBTAIN MONEY AND OFFICIAL ACCESS BY DECEPTION AND FALSE PRETENCE BY MR. PRETTY OKAFOR, MR. KENNY GEORGE

On the 12th of July, 2016, a new National Caretaker Committee of the Performing Musicians Employers Association of Nigeria – PMAN, was officially inaugurated by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige at the ministry’s office in Abuja. We have enclosed a recent letter from the Labour ministry to that effect, dated 26th July 2016 to buttress this fact and for your better understanding. The new PMAN National Caretaker Committee has been mandated with the responsibility to manage the affairs of the Union pending the conduct of a fresh National Delegate Conference, amongst others.

For your further better understanding, PMAN as a trade union was registered in 1984 under the Trade Unions Act and its activities are regulated by the Registrar of the Trade Unions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.

For some years now, there has been intra-union bickering and controversy amongst our members which principally centers on leadership tussle. As a result of leadership crisis inherent in the union and to resolve all claims to leadership, the new Caretaker Committee under the Chairmanship of Gabriel Kelvin Lucciano was inaugurated after an elaborate nationwide PMAN referendum and consultations which was submitted to the Registrar of Trade Unions which culminated to the Honourable Minister’s inauguration of the committee on the 12thJuly 2016.

As a Trade Union, PMAN has its constitution which stipulates the processes that must be followed to produce a legitimate President that presides over the affairs of the Union. The said processes are contained in Rules 8 of PMAN Constitution. However, Rule 13 (4) may apply if the circumstance arises. This Constitution is subsisting till date. It is on record that the only legitimate executive of PMAN before the ensuing of the current crisis was as a result of the PMAN NDC which was held in Kaduna in 2005 which elected Bolaji Rosiji and subsequently produced, Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli, MFR as the legitimate president of PMAN.

Owing to the crisis in PMAN, some group of people including one Mr. Pretty Okafor, Mr. Kenny George and Mr. Ibezimako among others instituted a suit before the Federal High Court, Lagos in Suit No: FHC/L/CS/919/2012 and on the 31st day of October, 2014 the Honourable Justice O.E. Abang gave them a consent judgment. The existence of the suit was not made known to the Trustees of PMAN which as at the last known constituted executives of PMAN included Dr. Tee Mac Omatshola Iseli, MFR as President and Engr. George Dureke as 1st Vice President as stipulated in Rule 13 of the PMAN Constitution, neither were their consents obtained before the suit and judgment in the name of the Union.

We were amazed that sometime in November, 2014 this same group of people led by one Mr. Pretty Okafor was parading a judgment of the Federal High Court asserting right to the Union’s leadership. We swung into action and discovered that the matter was filed at the Federal High Court, Lagos in 2012 long after the Federal High Court’s powers to handle Trade Union matters was taken away and given exclusively to the National Industrial Court of Nigeria. Effectively, federal high courts have no jurisdiction over Trade Union Disputes henceforth.

We mandated our lawyers to set aside the judgment after which they subsequently filed papers before Justice O.E. Abang drawing the Honourable Judge’s attention to the clear Constitutional provisions as to the limit of the Federal High Court over a Trade Union matters and the exclusive jurisdiction of the National Industrial Court over all Trade Union matters.

On the 14th of April, 2016, the said fraudulent consent judgment was set aside by the same federal high court having accepted its lack of jurisdiction while upholding the exclusive jurisdiction of the Nigerian Industrial Court over the matter. With the recent setting aside and voiding of the frivolous claim to presidency of PMAN by Mr. Pretty Okafor, his claims has effectively come to a conclusive end.

Sir, it has also become clear that soon after the so called “consent judgment” Mr. Pretty Okafor and his team embarked on an elaborate plan to scam and defraud the unsuspecting Nigerian corporate community including the following:

Airtel

MTN

Heritage Bank

Diamond Bank etc

They have subsequently obtained over one hundred million naira from these unsuspecting organizations and many others under false pretences and misrepresentation using the name of PMAN. They have received and laundered the proceeds of their scam through various illegal bank accounts opened in the name of PMAN without the consent and authorization of the trustees of PMAN.

These fraudulent bank accounts include those they operate at Heritage Bank and Diamond Bank in Lagos. For the purpose of clarity, the following bank accounts have been used by Mr. Pretty Okafor and his accomplices to fraudulently obtain and launder various large amounts of money from corporate organizations using the name of PMAN:

Heritage Bank account number 0002775335 = N12,000,000

2nd Heritage Bank number 5100155938 = N80,000,000

Diamond Bank account number 0056423168 = N 2,000,000

Sir, we the members of the newly inaugurated PMAN Caretaker Committee hereby humbly and graciously plead that your good offices should cease to deal with Mr. Pretty Okafor as the president of PMAN or any other matters relating to the music industry in the name of PMAN. Mr. Pretty Okafor is not and has never been the president of PMAN or any of its committee in any legal manner whatsoever. Mr. Pretty Okafor is in fact not a card carrying member of PMAN.

For your further better understanding, we have attached the following documents:

Full texts of the certified true copy (CTC) of the court ruling setting aside and nullifying the so called consent judgment by Justice Abang touted around by Mr. Pretty Okafor to lay claims to president of PMAN.A recent letter from the Registrar of Trade Unions under the Ministry of Labour and Employment clearly buttressing our assertions on the present state of affairs in PMAN.Photographs of the inauguration of the new PMAN Caretaker Committee by the Hon. Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige on 12thJuly 2016.A copy of the petition written to the police by Mr. Harris Ibezim Okeilo who acted as the treasurer to Mr. Pretty Okafor but who has since regretted his role in the fraudulent actions of Mr. Okafor using the name of PMAN to defraud corporate organizations.

We would appreciate your kind assistance by instituting a thorough investigation to:

Investigate and verify the sources of all monies obtained by Mr. Pretty Okafor fraudulently by using the name of PMAN.Investigate all the bank accounts opened illegally in the name of PMAN by Mr. Pretty Okafor for the sole purpose of laundering the proceeds of his scam from corporate organizations.Get Mr. Pretty Okafor to account for all monies he obtained from all sources by illegally using the name of PMANProsecute Mr. Pretty Okafor for all his criminal acts of obtaining huge sums of money using the name of PMAN.

Yours sincerely,

Kevin Lucciano Gabriel, Esq.

Chairman, PMAN Caretaker Committee.

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N3bn Fraud Trial: Court permits Yahaya Bello’s accused nephew to travel abroad

Published

3 days ago

on

July 23, 2024

By

 

The Federal High Court in Abuja has permitted an accused nephew of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to travel to the United Kingdom for medical attention.

 

To enable the defendant, Ali Bello, to embark on the foreign medical trip, the court ordered the release of his passport seized from him as part of his bail conditions.

 

Obiora Egwuatu, the trial judge, issued the order on Monday, overruling the objection of the prosecution agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to grant the accused person’s request.

 

He said the prosecution failed to present convincing evidence to back its claim that Ali would jump bail or tamper with evidence if allowed to embark on the medical trip.

 

He said he had no reason to believe Ali would jump bail, having fulfilled previous undertakings to return to Nigeria to continue his trial on two separate occasions.

 

“Since the grant of bail, he has not breached the terms of bail and has been coming to court to stand his trial.

 

“It is not controverted that this court had on two previous occasions granted the applicant similar prayers.

 

“On those two occasions, that is, between the 1 to 31 August 2023 and 17 December 2023 and 10 January 2024, the applicant did not breach the terms of the permission granted,” the judge said.

 

Stressing the need to ensure a defendant is healthy to stand trial, the judge said, “I wholeheartedly subscribe to the view that a defendant should be alive to stand trial” and face the consequences of his crime if found guilty.

 

Mr Egwuatu ordered the court’s deputy chief registrar who keeps Ali’s passport to release it to him, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

 

He also ordered the defendant to return the passport on or before 15 September.

 

Series of charges relating to Kogi funds

Ali and three others are standing trial on money laundering charges involving N3 billion allegedly diverted from the Kogi State coffers during former Governor Bello’s tenure.

 

The three co-defendants in the case are Abba Adaudu, Yakubu Siyaka Adabenege and Iyadi Sadat.

 

The case is only one in a series of prosecutions the EFCC brought against Ali, Mr Bello and their associates over their alleged fraudulent handling of Kogi State Government’s funds.

 

Ali and a co-defendant, Dauda Sulaiman, are charged with money laundering in another case involving the alleged diversion of N10 billion of Kogi State’s funds. The case is before a different judge of the Federal High Court in Abuja, James Omotosho. The prosecution has already called seven witnesses in the trial.

 

Mr Bello, the former governor, faces money laundering charges involving an alleged diversion of Kogi State’s N80 billion in a separate case before Mr Omotosho. Both Ali and Mr Suleiman are named as accomplices in the case.

 

EFCC brought the charges against Mr Bello after completing his two terms of eight years as governor in January but has been unable to get him to court for arraignment.

 

Since April, Mr Bello has shunned six court sessions scheduled for his arraignment, which has now been rescheduled for 25 September.

 

Ali’s medical trip request

On 5 April, Ali filed an application in the trial before Mr Egwatu seeking an order to release his passport from the deputy chief registrar of the court to enable him to travel abroad for medical consultation and examination.

 

He said the trip was to fulfil a routine cardiologic follow-up to review his medication and undergo cardiac tests.

 

He said he received medical advice to undergo the process annually.

 

He also recalled that the judge had granted him similar permissions to embark on the foreign medical trip on two occasions – first between 1 and 31 August 2023 and second between 17 December 2023 and 10 January 2024.

 

He said he returned to Nigeria on both occasions and returned his passport to the court’s deputy chief registrar as he was ordered to.

 

He pleaded with the judge to order the release of his passport again, undertaking to return it to the official upon his return from the UK to Nigeria.

 

The defendant also gave an assurance to be law abiding in the UK.

 

EFCC opposes request

The EFCC opposed the application.

 

Arguing against the request in court, EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Oyedepo, a SAN, cited a five-paragraph counter-affidavit detailing reasons for the commission’s objection. An EFCC official, Abubakar Salihu Wara, swore to the facts in the document on 19 April.

 

Mr Oyedepo argued that Ali failed to place any medical report before the court to show the health condition that necessitated the medical appointment.

 

Mr Oyedepo said Exhibit ‘A’ attached to the application did not disclose the email address of the sender and the receiver of the said medical appointment.

 

He added that the applicant did not present anything to show that Exhibit ‘A’ emanated from the London Centre for Advanced Cardiology as claimed.

 

He argued that Ali might tamper with evidence gathered for his prosecution if his application is granted.

 

However, Ali filed a further affidavit to dispute the prosecution’s claims.

 

Ruling

Apart from banking on the reputation Ali had earned by fulfilling his promises to return to Nigeria when granted the foreign trip permissions on two previous occasions, the judge also ruled that EFCC’s reasons for objecting to the request were not convincing.

 

Mr Egwatu held that EFCC failed to show that the name of the London hospital Ali planned to visit and its address “are not in existence”. He said there was no contrary evidence disputing the fact that the applicant “has a scheduled appointment with the said cardiologist.”

 

According to him, there was also no evidence presented by the EFCC to show that while Ali was on bail, he did or attempted to interfere with evidence or collude with any person to tamper with evidence.

 

The judge further said that a defendant ought to be healthy to stand the rigours of trial.

 

Former Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) governor Godwin Emefiele, facing multiple corruption trials, recently applied to the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, to seek medical attention in the UK, but the court rejected the request.

 

The judge in the case upheld EFCC’s objection, which was argued by Mr Oyedepo, the same prosecutor in Ali’s trial.

 

(NAN)

 

 

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Reps ask FG to suspend NMDPRA boss over anti-Dangote refinery comment

Published

3 days ago

on

July 23, 2024

By

 

The House of Representatives has called on the Federal Government to suspend the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Farouk Ahmed, pending the conclusion of the investigations of allegations against what it called the unguarded statement by the CEO.

 

The resolution of the House followed the adoption of a motion of urgent public importance sponsored by the member representing Esosa Federal Constituency, Edo State, Esosa Iyawe, during Tuesday’s plenary on the need to address issues arising from Farouk’s utterances about the nation’s local refineries.

 

The lawmaker reminded his colleagues that claims of adulterated fuel in the Nigerian market must be thoroughly investigated, stating that fuel quality can impact engine hardware.

 

This he said, is the reason ultra-low sulphur diesel is recommended for all types of power plants, storage tanks, industrial facilities, fleets and heavy equipment, and even ships, as high sulphur content in fuels, causes damage to engines and contributes to air pollution.

 

He said considering the various risks associated with sulphur, countries across the world have taken steps to regulate it by setting standards that require maximum reduction of emissions of this chemical compound, which diesel producers are expected to adhere to.

 

The Labour Party lawmaker, however, noted that the NMDPRA permits local refiners to produce diesel with Sulphur content of up to 650 parts per million until January 2025, as approved by the Economic Community of West African States.

 

He quoted the NMDPRA boss as saying that the diesel produced by the Dangote Refinery is inferior to the ones imported into the country and that their fuel had a large content of sulphur, which he put at between 650 to 1,200 ppm.

 

 

“In their defence, Dangote called for a test of their products, which was supervised by members of the House of Representatives, wherein it was revealed that Dangote’s diesel had a Sulphur content of 87.6 ppm (parts per million), whereas the other two samples diesel imported showed sulphur levels exceeding 1800 ppm and 2000 ppm respectively, thus disproving the allegations made by the NMDPRA boss.

 

 

“Allegations have been made that the NMDPRA was giving licences to some traders who regularly import high-sulphur content diesel into Nigeria, and the use of such products poses grave health risks and huge financial losses for Nigerians.

 

“The unguarded statements by the Chief Executive of the NMDPRA, which has since been disproved, sparked an outrage from Nigerians who tagged his undermining of local refineries and insistence on the continued importation of fuel an act of economic sabotage, as the imported products have been shown to contain high levels of dangerous compounds.”

 

He condemned what he called the careless statement by Farouk, noting that “Without conducting any prior investigation, he was not only unprofessional but also unpatriotic, especially in the face of the recent calls for protest against the Federal Government.”

 

Recall that a joint committee of the House on Monday, July 22, 2024, commenced investigations into Farouk’s allegations against Dangote Refinery.

 

The panel, made up of the Committees on Petroleum (Downstream and Midstream) is also conducting a legislative forensic investigation into “The presence of middlemen in crude trading and alleged unavailability of international standard laboratories to check adulterate

d products”, among others.

 

 

 

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Democrats Raise Over $40 Million Online Following Biden’s Presidential Race Exit

Published

5 days ago

on

July 22, 2024

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In a remarkable display of financial support, Democrats raised more than $40 million online following President Joe Biden’s announcement that he would be exiting the presidential race. This surge in donations, which occurred on Sunday, marked the most significant single day of online contributions for the Democratic Party since the 2020 election.

According to a New York Times analysis of ActBlue’s online contribution tracker, the wave of donations began shortly after President Biden’s withdrawal and coincided with Vice President Kamala Harris gaining momentum in the nomination race. Prior to Biden’s announcement, donations were averaging less than $200,000 per hour. However, within just one hour after the news broke, donations soared to $7.5 million.

The ActBlue platform processes contributions for various Democratic candidates and causes, not limited to Biden or Harris. It includes donations to Democratic House and Senate candidates as well as political nonprofits. The overall increase in donations highlights the unified support within the party during a pivotal moment.

Kenneth Pennington, a Democratic digital strategist, expressed his enthusiasm on X (formerly Twitter), stating, “This might be the greatest fundraising moment in Democratic Party history.” The previous record for single-day donations on ActBlue was set after the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in September 2020, with approximately $73.5 million processed. Sunday’s donations, reaching over $50 million by the end of the day, made it one of the platform’s most successful days ever.

The influx of contributions comes at a critical time for the Democratic Party, which has been grappling with internal conflicts and a need to regain momentum in the race aga inst former President Donald J. Trump. Fundraising had significantly slowed among major Democratic donors following President Biden’s underwhelming debate performance, but his departure from the race seemed to galvanize the party’s base.

Biden’s exit and his endorsement of Vice President Harris appeared to unify Democratic supporters, resulting in a dramatic spike in contributions. As Harris builds momentum to secure the nomination, the financial backing will undoubtedly play a crucial role in her campaign.

President Biden’s withdrawal had been anticipated by many, although the timing came as a surprise. He announced his decision while recovering from Covid at his Delaware beach house. In a letter posted on X, Biden reflected on his presidency, calling it the “greatest honor of my life.” He emphasized that stepping down was in the best interest of the party and the country, allowing him to focus on his duties for the remainder of his term.

Biden’s endorsement of Harris was swift and unequivocal, with his campaign quickly rebranding to “Harris for President.” Prominent Democrats and potential rivals, including California Governor Gavin Newsom, promptly voiced their support for Harris.

The surge in donations following Biden’s exit signifies a critical juncture for the Democratic Party. With substantial financial resources now at their disposal, the party aims to leverage this momentum to overcome recent challenges and strengthen their position in the upcoming election.

 

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