In the lead-up to the local government elections in Kano State, the NNPP is grappling with a surge of aspirants vying for chairmanship and councillorship positions despite its significant nomination fees.
The NNPP set the fee for chairmanship aspirants at N500,000, with councillors expected to pay N150,000. Additionally, the party imposed an expression of interest fee of N100,000 for chairmanship candidates and N50,000 for those seeking councillorship positions.
The party is then expected to pay N10m each for the 44 chairmanship seats and N5m each for the councillorship seats for the November 30, council elections.
Daily Trust learnt that despite the financial barriers, a large number of contenders have emerged and are eager to represent their LGAs.
It was gathered that each LGA has produced an average of 20 aspirants per position, adding to the party’s logistical and political challenges.
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For instance, Nassarawa LGA has 43 aspirants seeking the chairmanship position; Garko has 20; Kumbotso has 37; and Tarauni has 32. Madobi, Fagge and Gwale have 17, 23 and 38 candidates respectively; with other LGAs also facing a high volume of contenders.
A party loyalist, who wished to remain anonymous, disclosed that a nine-member committee had been set up in each LGA to screen candidates and recommend the most viable options.
He said, “While some LGAs have been tasked with reconciling their candidates to produce only two for the final consideration, this approach has mostly failed. Many contenders view themselves as the best choice and refuse to step down for others.”
He further said, “Since the committee members are also political actors within the LGAs, they often have their own preferred candidates, which adds another layer of complexity to the screening process.”
Other party insiders told Daily Trust that Garko LGA, for example, attempted to resolve its issue by assigning a five-member committee to narrow the field to one candidate. However, each member ultimately presented his own preferred candidate.
An aspirant said, “Given these internal divisions, we are now awaiting the intervention of our leader, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to make the final decision on who will be awarded the party’s tickets.”
Efforts to get a comment from the state’s NNPP Chairman, Hashim Sulaiman Dungurawa, were unsuccessful.
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