BY Idris Shehu
Betta Edu, national women leader of the All Progressives Congress (APC), says any youth aspiring to become the president of Nigeria in 2023 should have access to at least N50 million.
The ruling party had, on Wednesday, announced the price of the nomination forms for various political positions.
The party’s presidential hopefuls are expected to pay N100 million to buy the nomination forms, while the governorship hopefuls will pay N50 million.
The price of the nomination forms for the state house of assembly was pegged at N2 million, while the house of representatives is N10 million and the senate is N20 million.
The range of these ticket prices has spurred reactions from concerned Nigerians who believe the figures are too exorbitant particularly for young people, even despite the APC announcing a 50 percent reduction in the price of nomination forms for individuals under 40 years of age.
However, in a chat with Arise TV on Thursday, Edu defended the nomination forms’ price tag, adding that “there are many ways that young people can generate funding for elections”.
She said: “If you want to be able to cater for Nigerians, you should have gone above the point where you have to look for N50 million.”
The APC chieftain then asked how anyone who cannot access such an amount “be able to manage so much funds if you’re given that opportunity”.
“When you make up your mind that you want to run, you should be able to prepare adequately for that race. Beyond that, there are many ways that young people can generate funding for elections. It mustn’t be your money. There are many ways young people can generate funds to run for whatever elections they have. Remember, they are not paying 100 percent of whatever others are paying,” Edu said.
“If you’re a young person who truly people believe in you and you truly have the masses, there’s fundraising.
“If you want to run for the president of Nigeria. You need to go through the 36 states; remember that the law states you must have at least 25 percent across the board for you to be able to emerge. So it’s beyond picking up form and sitting down in one place and probably winning only one polling unit, and you say you want to run. That’s not what we should offer as a ruling party; we need to put some seriousness and scale into the game.
“And if you want to be able to cater for Nigerians, you should have gone above the point where you have to look for N50 million. If you don’t even have access to N50 million and you want to run for the presidency, then there is a problem already. How are we sure that you’ll be able to manage so much funds if you’re given that opportunity.”
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