High Form Fees Tears APC Apart as Aspirants Demand Review, Threaten Defection

Aspirants on the platform of the All Progressives Congress are poised for a showdown with the party leadership over the cost of nomination and expression of interest forms.

A report by Sunday Punch said that aspirants, seeking the party’s nomination to contest the governorship, national and state assemblies seats were on  a collision course with the party leadership.

They were said to have demanded a downward review of the fees.

The APC’s National Working Committee had proposed N55m as the cost of the nomination and expression of interest forms for the office of President, which is way higher than the N12m being charged by the opposition Peoples Democratic Party.

Those seeking the party’s nod to contest the state houses of assembly elections are asked to be prepared to part with N1.1m as against PDP’s N600,000, while for the House of Representatives, APC aspirants are asked to pay N3.8m. The PDP is asking its aspirants to pay 1.5m to contest the tickets.

For the Senate, APC aspirants will pay N8.5m as against the N3.5m the PDP is asking from its aspirants for the same position.

Governorship aspirants of the ruling party are asked to pay N22.5m each to contest the ticket as against the N6m to be paid by their counterparts in the PDP.

A member of the party’s NEC, who spoke to The Punch on condition of anonymity for fear of retribution, said the party leadership would stick to “its guns” as regards the fees.

He said: “As a party, we want people who have capacity and what we are asking for is reasonable in the circumstance. Even Mr. President (Muhammadu Buhari) expressed his reservations about the cost of the forms.”

An aspirant to the House of Representatives, who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to jeopardise ongoing negotiations, said, “We will be meeting either tomorrow (Sunday) or Monday to prepare a template on the way forward.

“We will give the party the choice of either reviewing the costs downwards or be prepared for mass defections which will certainly follow.”

The Punch