- ‘Monetization of public office fuelling corruption’
Piqued by the obscene monetization of the nation’s electoral process as evidenced in the outrageous nomination fees charged by political parties, lawyers have called on anti-graft agencies to promptly launch a thorough probe on the source of the funds spent in purchasing nomination forms by politicians. AKEEM NAFIU reports
Some senior lawyers have decried the monetization of the nation’s electoral process through the humongous fees charged by political parties for political office seekers to obtain their nomination forms.
The lawyers queried the rationale behind the fixing of such outrageous amounts by political parties amidst abject poverty, squalor and want, saying the action is atrocious and not in sinc with realities on ground.
They consequently sought for a thorough probe of how politicians secured funds to meet up with such humongous demand by their parties. The lawyers spoke on the heels of an assurance by the Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Abdulrasheed Bawa, that the anti-graft agency will monitor sources of funds for political parties’ nomination forms.
Bawa had during an interview session disclosed that EFCC is working with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to monitor sources of funds for parties’ nomination forms. He maintained that the anti- graft agency is concerned about ensuring that corrupt persons are not given leadership positions in the country.
Bawa said: “Of course, it is quite some money. It will take a lifetime for you to save N40 million and N100 million. But as you know, when it comes to the issue of monitoring of election funds and candidates’ funds, that has to do with the work of INEC in this regard.
“But of course, we are working hand in glove with INEC as well as other related agencies in that field to ensure that we follow the money and we know the source, whether it is legitimate or illegitimate, because that is what concerns us. “Above all, we are concerned about good governance, transparency, accountability and we are concerned about ensuring that corrupt elements are not given leadership positions in this country”.
Outrageous fees
It would be recalled that the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC), had asked its members interested in vying for the position of president to pay N100 million to obtain the nomination and expression of interest forms.
The party also asked those seeking ticket to contest the governorship election to pay N50 million to obtain the forms. Aspirants for the Senate, House of Representatives and Houses of Assembly also coughed out N20 million, N10 million and N2 million respectively.
The party however granted a financial waiver to all female aspirants on its platform and approved a 40 percent discount to aspirants aged 35 and below. The main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), had earlier pegged its fees for both the expression of interest and nomination forms at N40 million for president and N21 million for governorship aspirants.
Those aspiring for the Senate are to pay N3.5 million, while those aspiring for the House of Representatives were asked to pay N2.5 million. Aspirants for State Houses of Assembly also paid N600,000 for the nomination and expression of interest forms.
The party’s National Executive Committee (NEC) however approved a 50 percent cut in the nomination fees for youths aged 25 to 30 years for various elective positions. Justifying the humongous fees, APC’s National Chairman, Abdullahi Adamu, said those criticizing the party over the issue are not fair to it. He disclosed that the high fees were due to the importance attached to the various positions being contested for.
“If a presidential aspirant cannot mobilise at least ten thousand supporters to raise such amount, that person is not a serious contestant. “If you want to kill a dog, you will give him a bad name, there is nothing to compare between seeking to be Nigeria’s president and corruption using the cost of the form. If you can not participate, there is no compulsion, if you don’t have N100 million, you have no business with becoming president.
Tell me which country will not fix reasonable numbers to contest the position of the president? No country that practices democracy like ours will not fix the amount to around N100 million. In fact, how much is N100 million? “This is just an attempt to dent our image, it is the opposition party that is doing that. It will not change our minds or reduce the cost of the nomination form. Anyone that wants to participate, let him participate, that is the amount. When I was seeking to be the National Chairman of APC, I paid N20 million, and other aspirants paid the same”, Adamu said.
Lawyers demand probe
A cross-section of senior lawyers have expressed deep concerns over the humongous fees charged by political parties for nomination forms, saying the action is an indication that sanity has taken a flight from the nation’s electoral process. The lawyers while baring their minds on the issue at the weekend said the parties’ action has further enhanced social disparity and economic imbalance in the society.
They consequently sought for the intervention of anti-graft agencies in confirming the legitimacy or otherwise of the funds spent by politicians in purchasing the nomination and expression of interest forms. Speaking on the issue, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Mr. Femi Falana, said the outrageous fees is illegal and unconstitutional on grounds of inconsistency with the Constitution. Falana said:
“Since the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999 is the basic law of the land, any Act or law or policy which is inconsistent with this will be struck out.
Thus, the payment of outrageous nomination fees, which is not one of the conditions for contesting elections under the current democratic dispensation, is illegal and unconstitutional on grounds of inconsistency with the Constitution. “if the electoral bodies that are vested with the power to conduct elections are prohibited from collecting meagre nomination fees from candidates, what is the legal basis for collecting billions of naira from aspirants by political parties?.
However, while political parties cannot charge outrageous nomination fees, they may be permitted to direct aspirants to pay nominal fees for administrative expenses.
“The nomination fees of N100 million or N40 million pegged by the APC and PDP respectively are illegal and unconstitutional as they constitute a flagrant violation of Sections 40, 106 and 107 of the Constitution as well as article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights Act”. A university lecturer, Dr. Fassy Yusuf, called on politicians to play politics with conscience, egalitarianism and in line with realities on ground.
“While the monetization of the electoral process is condemnable, a distinction must be drawn between morality and law. The law does not set a limit for how much should be paid for expression of interest forms and there is no criminal law that has been breached by any of the political parties.
But, a lot is wrong morally about the situation. “But, what Nigerians are saying is that amidst abject poverty, squalor and want, some people could afford to raise N100 million to obtain a form. This is atrocious and not in sinc with realities on ground.
To that extent, I think one can only appeal to the conscience of the leadership of the political parties because it appears that no matter the amount requested for, desperate politicians will still look for it”, Yusuf said. On his part, a former President of the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR), Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, called for a strict adherence to the spending limits prescribed by the Electoral Act.
Malachy said: “In this regard and with respect to this sad development in our country, the issue cannot just be assessed from the legal angle alone. The moral implications as well as the socio-political commitment of the ruling political party to Nigerians must also be considered.
“Legally speaking, you could say that no specific infraction, thus far, has been committed in relation to any law. Yet, a government that self-committed to social justice and economic equality cannot embark on a journey that clearly sets the stage for social disparity and economic imbalance in the society.
“This policy coming from the ruling party makes nonsense of the not-too-young-to-run Act in the same way that it undermines women and popular participation. It underscores the commitment or otherwise of this administration to the crusade against corruption where the ruling party in it recruitment process is only interested in N100 million from each presidential aspirant as required from other categories of the aspirants without the source.
“The extant Electoral Act 2022(As Amended) has placed ceilings beyond which respective elective officers cannot spend in seeking elections into those offices. This must be strictly adhered to”. A rights activist, Mr. Kabir Akingbolu, called for a legislation to guide political parties in fixing prices of their nomination forms.
“The issue of nomination and sponsorship of candidates for election are the exclusive preserve of political parties concerned. In the same vein, every political party has the right to fix the amount of nomination forms for the party’s potential candidates.
“However, INEC reserves the right to peg the amount by fixing the maximum limit so as to prevent abuse of the party’s right in this regard. If it is too small, it is bad and if it is too high, it is worse.
So, with the flamboyance and political jamboree in the country regarding purchasing of forms with humongous amount, I believed that the time has come for a law to be made to regulate the indecency and sheer recklessness”, Akingbolu said. In his own reaction, Dr. Peterson Ndukwe, called on politicians to be guided by common sense in their actions, saying the outrageous fees are despicable and insensitive to masses’ plights.
Ndukwe said: “it is unfair, unjust, despicable and insensitive to the plights and sufferings of Nigerians who have been impoverished by the present government. “It is only those who have looted the national treasury and are eager to loot more that can afford N100 million nomination fees to run for president and N50 million for governor in a depressed economy run by borrowing from foreign countries and institutions. It is obvious that Nigerian democracy is under constant attacks by the outgoing APC government.
“Calling for a new law to regulate the cost of nomination is completely out of it. We should not hang everything on law in Nigeria. Common sense should equally guide our activities and dealings. Parties should show a high level of reasonability in things they do. They should not send out bad signal to the citizens. They should not lay the foundation for corruption”.
Mr. Adekunle Onaolapo, said the price tag had rubbished the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Act signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on May 31, 2018. “Who can legally afford the millions of naira for a presidential ambition? This despicable decision by political parties only serve to marginalise the youths, women and average citizens.
“Everyone who bought the nomination form at such a scandalous amount should be arrested and handed over to the EFCC, ICPC or police for investigation on the source of the money.
“We only just finished carpeting Peoples Democratic Party for bastardising the process of nominating its presidential candidate by inflating the cost of its nomination form to N40 million, little did we know that the politicians who run the Federal Government and have ruined the national economy will peg theirs at the extravagant cost of N100 million.
“This same APC government is unable to meet the funding obligations for federal universities and has thereby left millions of students of public schools to roam around in their homes due to industrial action by university teachers for over two months.
“Our anti-graft agencies should be strengthened to be proactive in instances like these when politicians embarked on a show of unverified affluence. if the anti-graft agencies have been alive to their responsibilities, no political party or individual will have the audacity to place outrageous price on nomination form. We have good laws in Nigeria, but weak implementation of such laws. That is what is creating lacunas in our right against corruption.
And to my mind , the lacunas are intentional so has to create a window for corruption by the so called ‘untouchables’ in the society. The earlier we wake up to our responsibility as a nation, the better for us”, he said.
*Additional report by Tunde Oyesina
