Human rights lawyer Femi Falana has faulted the N100m presidential nomination form fee set by the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), describing it as “immoral” since the country’s minimum is N30,000.
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Falana made the comment on Thursday, days after the APC fixed the prices for nomination forms for those vying for seats in the 2023 elections. The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) also pegged its presidential form fee at N40m.
“Those outrageous nomination fees are immoral, insensitive, and illegal,” he said during an interview on Channels Television’s Politics Today.
“The immorality of it is that we have over 90 million Nigerians that have been classified poor. In a country where the minimum wage is about N30,000 and it is not paid by some states, you can’t say you are collecting N100 million or N40 million to purchase a form,” he explained.
According to him, the move violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Nigerian constitution.
“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,” the constitutional lawyer added.
“If these parties are saying they want to exclude unserious people, that if you cannot mobilise N100 million or N40 million, you cannot attain some positions in your country. That is discriminatory and illegal.
“No restriction can be erected to prevent you from participating in the politics of the country. You are now saying that the politics of the country is for moneybags or fat cats. That is against the spirit and the letters of the constitution.”
The National Working Committee of the AAC on Thursday announced that its expression of interest and nomination forms are free for all aspirants ranging from the office of the President to that of the Local Government Area office contenders.
A statement signed by the party’s National Publicity Secretary, Femi Adeyeye, said, “We hereby declare that the expression of interest and nomination forms of our great party is free for all aspirants.”
Reacting to the declaration made by the other parties, especially the APC and PDP, Falana said, “Those outrageous nomination fees are immoral, insensitive, and illegal.”
He described the move by the political parties as illegal as it violates the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights and the Nigerian constitution.
“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,” the constitutional lawyer added.
“If these parties are saying they want to exclude unserious people, that if you cannot mobilise N100 million or N40 million, you cannot attain some positions in your country, that is discriminatory and illegal.
“No restriction can be erected to prevent you from participating in the politics of the country. You are now saying that the politics of the country is for moneybags or fat cats. That is against the spirit and the letters of the constitution.
“The immorality of it is that we have over 90 million Nigerians that have been classified poor. In a country where the minimum wage is about N30,000 and it is not paid by some states, you can’t say you are collecting N100 million or N40 million to purchase a form,” he was quoted as saying.
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