Shina Ashade, Abeokuta
Labour Party has condemn the high cost of nomination forms charged by the All Progressive Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) saying it was a deliberate attempt by both parties to shut out the youth from contesting the 2023 elections.
LP’s National Publicity Secretary, Comrade Abayomi Arabambi who disclosed this in a statement made available to newsmen in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, said that the exorbitant N20m to N40m cost of the forms could not be afforded by Nigerian youths.
He expressed worry over the teeming youth whom he said with the current economic situation and lack of payable jobs in the country can’t afford the money insisting that it was a ploy by the two parties to exclude the ‘not rich’ especially the youth from contesting
Arabambi said that the many people including the poor and the youth interested in politics cannot afford such money to procure nomination forms, noting that the inflation of nomination forms’ fees was a malicious way by PDP and APC to sustain electoral monopoly for the rich politicians.
“Our Party attention was drawn to news purportedly from the PDP and APC national head office with respect to a deliberate and malicious inflation of Nomination fees for some Political offices in their respective parties towards the 2023 General Polls.”
“Labour Party in a clear language condemns the very exorbitant cost of nomination forms in APC and PDP that targets the perpetual exclusion of the youths and but exclusively preserved for the rich in the build up for the 2023 Election”
“Of course , to every citizen who are well informed in the two – in – one APC and PDP Political Party shared official policy of excluding the not rich citizens from the electoral process , it won’t come as a surprise that these political parties came out to publicly place as much as N40m and N20m on Nomination forms.”
“This tendency with the two – in one APC and PDP political Parties has remained the same manipulative and primitive practice that have reserved and have sustained electoral monopoly for their recurring and ever leading deceitful frighteningly rich political Goliaths.”
“The APC and PDP are the masters at political exclusion arrangements .It is now their culture . Haha ?….. N40m to purchase one single form .
Costing nomination forms beyond the reach of the not rich professionals, the youths, the women smells of extortion attitude.” He added.
