Labour Party Aspirant Slams APC, Parties Over 'Scandalous' High Nomination Fees
By Chizoba Njaka
Anambra Central Senatorial aspirant under the Labour Party (LP), Venerable Tochukwu Sagacious Ikezue, has fiercely criticized major Nigerian political parties, particularly the All Progressives Congress (APC), for imposing "exorbitant" fees on nomination and expression of interest forms.
In a press release, Ven. Ikezue highlighted the APC's pricing: N200 million for the presidential form, N150 million for gubernatorial, N100 million for senatorial, and N70 million for House of Representatives seats, among others. He described these amounts as a "brazen commercialization of public office" that excludes competent candidates without vast wealth or godfathers.
"These figures dwarf the annual budgets of many local governments and exceed the lifetime earnings of millions of hardworking Nigerians," Ikezue stated. He argued that such fees entrench money-bag politics, godfatherism, and poor governance by favoring the super-rich over visionary leaders.
Ven. Ikezue condemned the trend across parties, calling it "political exclusion and economic discrimination." He demanded that the APC and others slash fees to affordable levels, urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to intervene, and called on civil society, religious groups, and youth to reject prohibitive barriers to democracy.
"Leadership is not for sale. Public office is not an auction," he emphasized, insisting Nigeria deserves a democracy "of the people, by the people, and for the people not the highest bidders."