N100M Just For Nomination Form, I Smell Fraud, Iyorchia Ayu Laments

Dr Iyorchia Ayu, said “In fact, all those buying the N100m and N50m nomination forms should be investigated for fraud.”

The National Chairman of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), Dr Iyorchia Ayu, on Thursday, April 21, 2022, in Abuja, faulted the N100 million nomination forms by the All Progressives Congress (APC) for aspirants contesting the 2023 presidential election, saying any person who spends that money should be investigated for fraud.

Recall that the opposition party also pegged its presidential nomination form at N40 million earlier in the year, as the costs by both parties elicited scathing criticisms from the public.

Ayu, in a statement by his Special Assistant on Communication and Strategy, Simon Imobo-Tswam, titled ‘Overpriced APC nomination forms: Dr Iyorchia Ayu’s reaction’, said the APC has disenfranchised thousands of her youths, and dashed the hopes of millions of Nigerian youths who applauded President Muhammadu Buhari, when he signed the Not Too Young To Run Bill into law in 2018.

He said, “The APC has disenfranchised thousands of her youths, and dashed the hopes of millions of Nigerian youths who applauded President Buhari when he signed the Not Too Young To Run Bill into law in 2018.

 “Nigerians will recall how in 2014, Muhammadu Buhari, now President and leader of the APC, told Nigerians that he had to borrow N27m to buy his nomination form. The same man, as leader of his party, has now sanctioned the sale of the same forms at N100m! I am told that is an increase of 370 per cent.

“But in 2014, the PDP was in power and the economy was still booming. The incompetent APC Presidency has now run the economy aground, making Nigeria the ‘Poverty capital of the world.’ How then can impoverished APC aspirants buy nominations at such prohibitively high costs? And yet, only recently he preached ‘equal opportunity’ to them.

“By this latest insensitive action, the APC has disenfranchised thousands of her youths, and dashed the hopes of millions of Nigerian youths who applauded President Buhari when he signed the Not-Too-Young-To-Run bill into law in 2018. It is most insensitive, and mind-boggling. In fact, all those buying the N100m and N50m nomination forms should be investigated for fraud.”

Meanwhile, the party has again extended the sale of its nomination forms to Friday, April 22, 2022.

Under the reviewed timetable, the last day for the submission of already completed forms is Monday, April 25, 2022

Consequently, April 27, 28, and 29 have been slated for the screening of State House of Assembly/National Assembly, governorship, and Presidential aspirants respectively while appeals on screening exercise holds on Monday, May 2, 2022.

The 3-man ad- hoc ward congress has been fixed for Saturday, April 30, 2022 while the local government area national delegate’s congress will now hold on Thursday, May 5, 2022. A statement signed by PDP spokesman, Debo Ologunagba, said all completed State Assembly Forms should be returned at the various states’ secretariat of the party.