The All Progressives Congress (APC) National Working Committee executives have approved N100 million as cost of Presidential nomination forms.
According to the schedule of fees for expression of interest and nomination forms released by the NWC, governorship is N50 million, Senate N20 million, House of Representatives N10 million, while state House of Assembly aspirants would purchase theirs at N2 million.
The N100 million for Presidential nomination form is over 100 per cent increase from the amount it sold the form for the same office in 2018 at N45 million; and nearly 200 per cent hike from N27 million it sold forms in 2014. The N100 million fee is also more than double the fee of the major opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), which fixed its Presidential nomination form at N40 million.
The NEC also revealed that it would begin selling the nomination and expression of interest forms for various electoral offices from April 23 until May 6, 2022.
Presidential aspirants that have so far declared their interest in APC include: the party’s national leader, Bola Tinubu; Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo; Ebonyi State governor, Dave Umahi; Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello; ex-governor of Imo State, Rochas Okorocha; former governor of Abia State and Majority Whip of the Senate, Orji Uzor Kalu; Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige.
This is just as the second highest leadership caucus of the party (NEC) ceded its powers to the Senator Abdullahi Adamu-led NWC to decide on issues regarding the nomination of candidates and disciplinary procedures.
The transfer of the sweeping powers followed a motion moved by President of the Senate, Ahmad Lawan and seconded by the Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila.
The N100 million set by the APC for aspirants seeking to run for president is far higher than the four-year salaries of President Buhari and Vice President Osinbajo. With the current salary of the President, which is put at N14.058 million yearly or N1.171 million monthly, according to a breakdown by the Revenue Mobilisation, Allocation and Fiscal Commission, it means that the N100 million APC nomination form is the salary of the President for about 85 months or seven years.
For the Vice President who currently earns N12.126 million yearly or N1.01 million monthly, the N100 million nomination form is his salary for 99 months or eight years and three months.
Reacting to the cost of the nomination form, rights group, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA), urged the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to probe the source of wealth of any presidential aspirant who picks the APC presidential nomination and expression of interest forms.
The group made this known in a statement yesterday by its National Coordinator, Emmanuel Onwubiko. The group said only corrupt politicians would afford that much for a nomination form.
HURIWA said: “Anyone who buys the nomination form at such a scandalous amount should be arrested and handed over to law enforcement agencies such as EFCC or ICPC or the Nigeria Police Force for investigation on the source of the money.
“We only just finished carpeting the opposition PDP for bastardising the process of nominating its presidential candidate by inflating the cost of its nomination form to N40 million, little did we know that the politicians who run the Federal Government and have ruined the national economy will peg theirs at the extravagant cost of N100 million.
“This same APC government is unable to meet the funding obligations for federal universities and thereby has left millions of students of public schools to roam around in their homes due to industrial strike by university teachers for over two months.
“It is a shame that those who seek to govern Nigeria are made to cough out so much money to purchase forms just to signpost their original intention as persons whose only objective would be to first recoup their huge investments and to further impoverish the citizenry.”
