The ruling All Progressives Congress on Wednesday pegged the expression of interest and nomination forms for presidential aspirants under its platform at N100 million, thereby reigniting debates on Nigeria’s notoriety for money politics.
The amount is over 100 per cent higher than the party’s N45m tag for presidential forms in the run-up to the 2019 general elections and 300 per cent above the N25m demanded in 2015 when President Muhammadu Buhari first contested under the APC.
Interestingly, President Buhari at the time lamented the cost and claimed to have taken a loan to buy the forms.
It will be recalled that Buhari had in May 2018 signed the “Not-Too-Young-To-Run” Bill into law to encourage more youths to participate in politics. The law is aimed at relaxing some of the stringent and discriminatory provisions of the constitution.
The bill sought to reduce the qualification age to run for president from 40 to 30; governorship from 35 to 30; senate from 35 to 30; House of Representatives from 30 to 25 and State House of Assembly from 30 to 25.
The Wednesday development has however raised questions over sincerity behind the law, with even some APC presidential aspirants describing the cost of the forms as outrageous and discouraging.
“It (N100m cost) is demoralising for the greater part of the Nigerian public, especially the younger demography,” one of the APC presidential aspirants, Adamu Garba, had said.
“Political office should not be for sale. Competencies and capacities should drive who should win political power not money,” he added.
Another presidential aspirant, Usman Iwu, said the amount would force many loyal party members out of the party, describing the sum as “unfortunate.”
Also, while submitting his forms in Abuja on Tuesday, April 12, a PDP presidential aspirant and Publisher, Ovation Magazine, Mr Dele Momodu, expressed displeasure at N40 million collected by the party, saying it could easily discourage and eliminate younger and more vibrant aspirants.
Seventeen PDP presidential aspirants were said to have bought the forms as the party raked in whopping N646m.
Although both parties gave up to 50 per cent discounts to some categories of aspirants, many pundits still insist the costs were not justifiable, considering the high rate of (youth) unemployment, inflation and other prevailing poor economic situations in the country.
In its fourth quarter 2020 report, the National Bureau of Statistics revealed that unemployment rose to 33.3 per cent (amounting to 23.18 million jobless Nigerians) from 27.1 per cent recorded in the 2nd quarter of the same year.
The NBS also noted that 40 per cent of Nigerians, or 83 million people, lived in poverty in 2020. And going by the current economic downturn, the United Nations projected that the number would rise to 90 million, 45 per cent of the population, this year.
Asked whether the APC considered the economic hardship in arriving at the humongous cost, the National Publicity Secretary of the party, Mr Felix Morka, said Nigeria also houses people who “live very opulent lifestyles and make legitimate money.”
“Yes, things are not perfect economically. They are not perfect anywhere. Do you have an ideal country where economic situation is perfect? Is it the United States or the UK? The party made a decision that the value put on these forms are justified,” Morka, who appeared on Channels TV on Wednesday, added.
