CISLAC expresses concerns over high cost of nomination, expression of interest forms by political parties

A civil society organisation, CISLAC, has bemoaned the high cost of fees to be paid by individuals wishing to contest political offices in the country.

CISLAC said the nomination and expression of interest fees to be coughed out by political office seekers amounted to commercialisation of the electoral process.

The All Progressives Congress (APC) is charging presidential aspirants on its platform N100m, while governorship aspirants will have to pay N50m for nomination form.

On the other hand, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), according to its national spokesperson, Debo Ologunagba, pegged the price of the form for the presidential election at N40m. The prices of forms for other elective positions are Governor, N21m; Senate, N3.5m; House of Representatives, N2.5m, and House of Assembly, N600,000.

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However, in a statement on Wednesday, signed by Auwal Ibrahim Musa (Rafsanjani) Executive Director, CISLAC/Chairman, Transition Monitoring Group (TMG), CISLAC said it was sickening that the electoral process had been reduced to “commercial sport.”

“It is even more sickening that the electoral process has been reduced to a commercial sport of sorts as eligibility for candidacy has strictly been reserved for the party money bags.

“This is an intentional decision to automatically filter out the non-elite and leave the floor open for the same set of politicians and their beneficiaries who have bled the nation thus far.”

The civil society stated further: “It is shameful that the ruling party, that the President belongs to, has endorsed the expression of interest and nomination forms for its presidential ticket at N100m. This is especially at a time when many have expressed dissatisfaction with the level of youth participation in partisan politics and called for deliberate measures to create the enabling environment for wider inclusion and active participation of women and youth in politics and governance of the country.

“A key question to ask is, ‘Who can legally afford N100 million for a Presidential ambition?’ This despicable decision by the APC begs this question as it only serves within the following contexts to: Marginalize youths, women and average citizens.

“Despite claims of a 50% reduction in nomination and expression of interest fees, the new presidential nomination fees at (from N100 million to N50 million) remains clearly higher than the 2019 Presidential aspirant fee which was N45 million (N40 million for nomination form and N5 million for expression of interest form).

“This will apparently exclude the youth, women and average Nigerians who have clamoured to improve opportunities to exercise their rights to declare their interests and contest in the elections. The current total fee is N5 million higher than it was 3 years ago when inflation was significantly lower and the common man had a better spending power. It has been well established that money politics has served the purposes of consolidating elite rule as well as the political exclusion of the less financially stable and marginalized groups.

“The 1999 Constitution by omission or commission, placed an age barrier by disqualifying persons below the ages of 40 and 30 from contesting for the offices of the President, and membership for House of Representatives and Assembly, respectively. Today’s decision by the ruling party however makes a mockery of the efforts of all the stakeholders and general public that campaigned vigorously to secure the signing of the Not Too Young To Run bill into law by President Muhammadu Buhari on May 31, 2018. It once again re-emphasizes the lack of sincerity of purpose and political inconsistencies that have plagued this administration’s decisions/commitments to any cause or agenda.

“Needless to say, the Not Too Young To Run law has been reduced to only a facade that masks the true drivers of retrogressive politics in Nigeria, which include money politics, godfatherism and the lopsided economic disparity between the mighty old ruling class and the seemingly apathetic youths, deliberately pauperised by the same criminal political elite. It is very unfair that after securing such a long-sought after victory, an under-handed means has been used to hijack any opportunity whatsoever for a youth in today’s Nigeria to finance his political aspirations. This is especially at a time when the spending power of Nigerians (with the exception of mostly the political class) is at an epic low due to increased unemployment and growing inflation. The decision is thus very exclusivist and runs contrary to the purpose of the Not Too Young To Run Act.

“This commercial exercise will further dampen the hopes of the nation in achieving true democracy. Afterall, the whole idea of democracy is the free will of the people in electing their political leaders, and where such “free will” is manipulated through financial hurdles such as this, the country is further pulled away from the attainment of the best democratic policies. The President needs to recuse himself from this decision as it runs contrary to any suggestion that he desires a true democracy where the people can elect their leaders irrespective of their financial status and that he meant well in signing the Electoral bill into law in the spirit of political fairness and equity,” the body said.