EditorialTHEWILL EDITORIAL: Selling Political Offices to Highest Bidders

THEWILL EDITORIAL: Selling Political Offices to Highest Bidders

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Democracy has been described as the government of the people by the people and for the people. What this connotes is that unlike a dictatorial or autocratic government, democracy needs the input of the people of a country practising it. Where the people are in one way or the other manipulated out of the system to either contest or be elected into a government, such a government cannot be described as a democratic government.

In essence, democratic rule allows the citizens of the country the right to vote and be voted for. Again, Section 42 of the Nigerian Constitution provides that nobody shall be subjected to any restriction or discrimination on the basis of class, fortune, sex or whatever.

It is based on this fundamental right of Nigeria Citizens to vote and be voted for that we view with sadness, the sale of nomination forms by the two major political parties in the country, the governing All Progressives Congress (APC) and the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to their members aspiring for political offices at exorbitant costs.

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It seems that for both parties the underlying objective is to eliminate those whose pockets are not deep enough from running for political offices on their platforms in the 2023 general election.

For instance, the APC sold its presidential nomination form and form of intention to contest for N100m, while the PDP sold its own presidential nomination forms at N40 million. The APC explained that the nomination form was sold for N70 million while the expression of interest form costs N30 million.

We consider the costs of purchasing these forms outrageous, especially in a country where many state governors are finding it extremely difficult to pay the minimum wage of N30, 000 and where about 100 million Nigerians have been classified as living below the poverty line and unable to afford three square meals a day.

The annual salary of the president in a year is not up to N100 million and no genuine salary earner or people engaged in legitimate business would like to stake that kind of money on mere forms.

The two major political parties with their actions have shown that they are insensitive to the suffering of the average Nigerian. The argument put forward by the leaders of the parties that the high cost of forms was intended to discourage unserious people does not hold water. Their insistence on leaving out aspirants for certain elective positions, who cannot mobilise the sums of N100 million or N40 million out of the electoral process, is discriminatory and illegal.

It is our belief that in a democracy, no restriction can be erected to prevent people from participating in the politics of their country. Are the APC and PDP now saying that the politics of the country is for the rich or ‘money bags’? If so, it is important to remind them that any action in such direction is anti-democratic and unconstitutional.

This development is clearly antithetical to the current administration’s drive to encourage full participation of the youth in the electoral process, which is anchored on the signing of the Not-Too-Young- To-Run Bill by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.

Fixing the cost of nomination forms beyond the reach of the youth seeking elective positions in 2023 will not only discourage them from participating in the electoral process, but also deny the entire nation the opportunity to benefit from their input to national development.

The sale of nomination forms at such exorbitant costs may propel the youth toward getting rich by any means, thus worsening the crime rate and by implication, further compounding the security situation in the country.

The APC and PDP should bear in mind that when an aspirant obtains a nomination form at great expense and eventually finds himself in government, he will want to recover the expenses incurred during pre-election and election time. This will definitely not augur well for the fight against corruption in the long run.

We would like the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor the expenses of politicians and political parties. Under the Electoral Act, there are fixed amounts of money payable by aspirants seeking various elective positions in the country. Anything beyond these fixed amounts is not acceptable. Also, INEC should, through the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), monitor the finances of the political parties and ensure that they submit their annual financial audit reports.

We commend the lesser parties for lowering the prices of their nomination forms to a level that can be afforded by the average Nigerian.

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