Victor EzejaLeaders of the Third Force Movement under the umbrella of the National Consultative Front (NCFront), has condemned the fees for presidential nomination forms set by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
APC National Executive Committee (NEC) approved N100 million for presidential nomination forms, while PDP fixed its own at N40 million.
The Third Force Movement in a statement signed by the NCFront’s Head of Public Affairs Bureau, Dr Tanko Yunusa, described the fees for the two political parties’ nomination forms as “prohibitive fees” imposed on aspirants.
The movement said such act amounts to “outrageous monetization of the electioneering process” by the two political parties, given the hard times people are facing in the country.
It said such decision by the APC and PDP shows worsening official corruption at all levels of governance and disregard for consideration of aspirants based on character and competence, as only moneybags would emerge as candidates for the election.
“The Third Force strongly perceives these fees imposed by the two dominant political parties as discriminatory and corruptive. The imposition of N100 million and N40 million on presidential aspirants by APC and PDP respectively speaks eloquently to the retrogressive politics that the Nigerian ruling class has been systematically perpetuating by monetizing political mandate of Nigerians. It is not strange to us that both the APC and the PDP now place more premium on money rather than other critical values like character and competence for aspirants that seek political offices.
“It amounts to a mockery of our democracy for any political party to enforce regulations that places the political space under the exclusive control of moneybags and highest bidders, especially in the hands of incumbent political office holders who will be left with no option than to engage in unwholesome mandate buying only to device a crooked means of recuping their political investments,” part of the statement reads.
The movement observed that with the official salary of the president, an aspirant who pays N100 million for the nomination forms cannot recover it even within the four-year tenure, talk more of other expenditure to be uncured in the electioneering process.
The movement added that such humongous expenditure that electoral candidates are subjected to would have a spiral effect on the general cost of things in the country.
The movement called on Nigerians to strongly oppose such political gesture by APC and PDP, considering the harsh economic situation in the country, while urging them to take necessary steps to restore sanity in the electoral process and install right leadership.
“Nigerians home and abroad are hereby enjoined to urgently team up with our 3rd force movement being championed by Leaders of Conscience, who are resolute to offer a formidable political platform for credible candidates to neutralize and defeat APC and PDP by the massive support of Nigerians at the next general elections,” the statement added.
Victor Ezeja is a passionate journalist with six years of experience writing on economy, politics and energy. He holds a Masters degree in Mass Communication.
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