Human rights activist, Omoyele Sowore has criticised the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) for making the cost of nomination and expression of interest forms for elective positions in the 2023 elections outrageous.
Sowore, who is contesting for President on the platform of the African Action Congress (AAC), on Wednesday said crooks in the ruling party would purchase the forms at the outrageous cost with funds looted from the public treasury.
Omoyele Sowore
The APC earlier on Wednesday fixed N100 million as the cost for its 2023 presidential aspirants to obtain forms. The APC explained that the nomination form would go for N70 million while the expression of interest form costs N30 million.
The fee was approved at the ongoing National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party in Abuja.
Those eyeing the governorship ticket will purchase the form at N50 million.
“State House of Assembly Goes For 2 Million Naira. House Of Representatives Goes For 10 Million Naira. Senate Goes For 20 Million Naira. Governorship Goes For 50 Million Naira and Presidency Goes For 100 Million Naira,” the party had said.
Sowore in a post on his official Twitter handle said, “Crooks in @OfficialAPCNg are going to “reinvest” N100m looted from different treasuries belonging to the Nigerian people to buy the Presidential nomination form of the crooked party! We must say NO to these thieves! #WeCantContinueLikeThis #Revolutionnow.”
The Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, had also condemned the APC leadership for cost fixed for the forms.
Reacting, HURIWA in a statement signed by Emmanuel Onwubiko said “only political rogues, drug peddling gangsters or persons involved in armed robbery or kidnappings for ransom can afford to gamble away such a lifelong fortune.”
The rights group said anyone who buys the forms for such amounts, should first be arrested by the citizens and handed over to law enforcement agencies such as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) or Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) or the police to investigate the source of the money.
“This same APC government is unable to meet the funding obligations for federal universities and thereby left millions of students of public schools to roam around in their homes due to industrial strike by university teachers (ASUU) for over two months, yet the politicians have hidden enough stolen cash to buy presidential forms at N100 million each,” the statement read.
“It is a shame that those who seek to govern Nigeria are made to cough up 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.
“We urge Nigerians to initiate citizen’s arrest of anyone who buys the APC Presidential form at the rate of N100 million so the relevant law enforcement agencies are handed over these suspects to explain their source of such huge funds.”
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