From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The recent passionate appeals from the leadership of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) for the political parties to review the exorbitant fees they charge for expression of interest and nomination forms has opened a fresh debate on the undemocratic process and toxic influence of money in Nigeria’s democracy.
From the beginning of the current republic in 1999 till date, the continued increase in the fees for nomination forms into various elective political offices has become a source of concern to many, especially last year’s 2023 presidential election when the All Progressives Congress (APC) took it to an unprecedented all-time high of a whopping N100 million.
Understandably, the hiking of nomination forms seems to be peculiar with the ruling party, APC, the main opposition party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and few other parties basking in the euphoria of the triumphant entry of certain contestants that made them visible.
In the 2023 general elections, while the APC scaled up the price of nomination forms to N2 million for the House of Assembly, N10 million for House of Representatives, N20 million for Senate, and N50 million for governorship, nomination forms in PDP also went up to as high as N600,000, House of Assembly, N2.5 million, House of Representatives, N3.5 million, Senate, N21 million, governorship and N40 million for presidential aspirants.
The only waiver consideration by the two major political parties included the reduction of nomination forms prices to female aspirants, youths between the ages of 25 to 40 years, and People Living with Disability (PWD) who got 50 per cent discounted rates.
The drift of hiking the prices of the party’s nomination forms was not exclusive to only the APC and PDP. While the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) nomination form price went for N1.2 million for House of Representatives, N3 million for the Senate, N11 million for the governorship, and N30 million for the presidential, perhaps due to the entrance of its presidential candidate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, there was marginal difference in the nomination fees for the Young Progressives Party (YPP), Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Labour Party (LP) with Peter Obi as its presidential candidate.
Curiously, in the estimation of many Nigerians, what has become very worrisome about the ever-increasing prices of nomination forms daring every election cycle is pushing the cost of participating in elections beyond the reach of an average citizen aspiring to contest for an elective position.
In several instances, political aspirants have had to either sell their property, including houses and landed assets, or obtain high-interest collateral facility loans to enable them contest elections. The trend, of course, has regrettably turned electoral participation into, more or less, a business venture rather than the expected call to public service.
Little wonder the desperation to quickly recover the money most of the winners invested to repay their debt while in office has, understandably, overshadowed every other consideration and even fuelled corruption among public officers in the country.
Confirming the inclination, former Senate President, Adolphus Wabara, once proudly said that; “the membership of the National Assembly is an investment because most of us sold our houses to get to the Senate… maturity is there but it is the ability to recoup whatever you spent legitimately that is the problem.”
Many critical observers believe that the high cost of purchasing nomination forms has been responsible for the increasing influences of godfatherism in the country’s politics and governance.
The case of the piper dictating the tune has become a feature of the nation’s politics with many godfathers capitalising on the desperation of many prospective aspirants that could not afford the required funds to sponsor them and wish to control them when they get elected.
From all indications, the solution to end the trend seems to be far. For instance, in the presidential election that brought in former president Muhammadu Buhari in 2015, many Nigerians expected the then-prudent retired military general to crash the fee to a tolerably minimal extent, but he could not.
In fact, despite complaining about taking a bank loan to purchase the N27 million nomination forms of his party, he still watched helplessly as political associates and friends raised a total sum of N45 million to buy the 2019 presidential election he contested as the sole candidate of his party.
It was a 66.7 per cent increase from the price he purchased the forms during the previous election, yet he could not use his position to tame his party from the monster of the high cost of nomination forms despite having overwhelming power in APC.
Buhari had while expressing concerns in 2015 over such an exorbitant amount, complained that; “It’s a pity I couldn’t influence this amount to be put down…but I felt heavily sorry for myself…N27 million is a big sum.”
But, to confirm that he was just being sanctimonious and simply paying lip service, he kept mute when his party pegged it at N45 million in the 2019 presidential election, maybe because he did not contribute to buying the nomination forms.
Ironically, the ruling party seems to be unapologetically unrepentant in boasting that it has no regret in the ever-increasing price of nomination forms. Defending the N100 million costs of forms during the 2023 general elections, APC National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu, described it as a status symbol, during a chat with Daily Sun recently.
He said: “When we debated the amount to peg the nomination forms, some thought that as a ruling party, N100 million would not be too much while others objected. We, however, agreed that anybody who wants to be the president of this country must afford such an amount.
“It was from there that we will really know who was ready for a big show. Anybody who can afford the forms should also be ready for other expenditures to come.
“We wanted to avoid the situation where some fake aspirants will be sponsored to do dirty jobs and at the end of the day, embark on litigation to get the victory they missed at the convention. The high cost of nomination forms is part of the measures to reduce the number of post-primary election litigations and rancor.”
Toeing the same line, former Speaker, House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila once claimed that; “for political parties, the sale of nomination forms is vital for operational revenue. Additionally, political parties use the high cost of nomination forms to screen candidates and reduce the practice of aspirants playing spoiler or using the process as an opportunity to negotiate their ambitions.”
However, miffed by the drastic effects and pressures the high cost of nomination fees is exacting on the party’s funding, IPAC boss who doubles as the National Chairman of Allied Peoples Movement (APM), Yusuf Dantalle, in his remarks at the quarterly consultative meeting between the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) and leaders of political parties last week, passionately pleaded for its review.
According to him; “the high expression of interest and nomination forms fees charged by some political parties should be reviewed despite being internal affairs of the parties. IPAC will continue to engage party leaders on this among others that will curb imposition of candidates and boost internal democracy as we strive to make Nigeria better.
“Accordingly, leaders of political parties must live by example in deepening democracy and ensuring an environment conducive to successful elections, political stability, and peaceful electoral process in Nigeria. It is one way of restoring trust and confidence in the electoral system which will bolster voters’ turnout in elections.”
For many pundits, it is unquestionable that political parties require huge amounts of resources to run their numerous activities but they seem to have agreed that it has become counterproductive and dangerous to rely so heavily on the funds generated through internal electoral processes like nomination fees as the major source of funding.
Apart from the reality that hiking the nomination fee has bred desperation and heightened the grievances of many party members, it also has far-reaching consequences that would continue to hunt Nigeria’s democracy.
Analysts argue that from all indications, the high cost of nomination forms has become a monster in Nigeria’s electoral process that must be discouraged in order not to exclude people with genuine intentions to serve the public.
Keying into the alarms raised by the leadership of IPAC, a former member of APC National Working Committee (NWC) who pleaded anonymity, admitted in a chat with Daily Sun that it has become an infectious virus that will continue to haunt Nigeria’s democratic process.
He said: “The nomination forms are unnecessarily very high because the parties rely on the sales to generate funds, especially as they don’t have other organised legitimate sources of funding.”
“They use the hike to attract relatively unknown persons with financial war chests into the party and give them tickets as candidates. This is part of what makes our democracy very expensive. And because they are not known to the party members, they also bribe delegates to vote for them to pick the ticket.
“They cannot spend that huge sum of money and fail to get the ticket. And even when they got the ticket as the party’s candidate, they continued the spending spree by buying votes from the electorate during the main election.”
The party chieftain added: “the parties are hiking their nomination forms because of their inability to democratise their activities. For instance, if they have a credible membership register, even the membership dues can make the party financially strong. If the parties are doing the right thing, they can have voluntary contributions through goodwill from the party members.
“The high cost of nomination forms is an aberration because forms ought to be given to aspiring members free of charge or at worse, the aspirant should pay a token. Ideally, the whole process, from the purchase of the forms to the campaign should not be driven by money.
“The monetary value attached to it has excluded people with ideas and intellect from vying and making meaningful contributions to the growth of society. Some people are very popular but they don’t have such huge amounts of money to buy forms and contest,” he quipped.
The APC chieftain equally blamed the crisis experienced in most parties on the bitterness and rancour that follows the desperation to win the primaries.
“Regrettably, most crises in the party arise and escalate because of the confusion created by the high cost of forms and non-adherence to due process in the party. What do you expect from a party that does not have a credible membership register and without membership dues?
“The governors and power brokers are controlling the party machinery and structures. The high cost of forms has been responsible for the lack of free, fair, and transparent primaries which have been the source of misunderstanding.
“Most of those that win the party’s ticket got the money they spent through illegal means, especially in government as political office holders or government officials. Needless to say, those who eventually win the election with their funds certainly recover their money once they are in government,” the chieftain claimed.
Equally condemning the exorbitant prices of nomination forms, General Secretary of the Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Chief Peter Ameh, argued that it has created so much trust deficit and raised desperate political office seekers and holders.
The former IPAC chairman told Daily Sun that; “the constitution envisaged mass participation in the political process when it created a multiple-party system, which gives Nigerians the opportunity and options to contest.
“But, with the high cost of forms, those that want to participate have been systematically excluded. Elections through the political parties should be a democratic process of bringing the best on board to drive the cause of development for our country. So, if they now peg the nomination forms between N25 million to N100 million, they have tactically stopped those who don’t have money from contesting.
“They have stopped those that are competent and experienced enough from participating in the primary elections. Democracy is not driven by excluding people from effective participation. Pro-people democracy means liberalising the participation of many people through the reduction in the price of nomination forms to N1 million, N500,000, which will also encourage good governance.
“Pro-people government means the masses believing in the leaders by paying membership dues to support the parties. The trust deficit has been responsible for the refusal of Nigerians to contribute to party funding. Parties should not only reduce the prices of nomination forms but also unfold measures to make Nigerians believe in them and their activities,” he submitted.
On the extent the high cost of nomination forms has affected democracy in Nigeria, Ameh said: “It has resulted in the desperation by political office holders to embezzle funds to recoup what they borrowed to prosecute their election victories, especially the fund spent to purchase nomination forms.
“Again, the trend has also deliberately excluded those genuinely interested in making meaningful contributions to governance. It makes the process very exclusive to the wealthy politicians and promotes the situation where the money spenders control the affairs of the parties and governance.”
However, regardless of the side of the coin one identifies with, what is irrefutable to many discerning political watchers is that politicians have also turned the purchase of nomination forms into a business venture. For many of them, it was time to cash out in a big way by stepping down for stronger aspirants that usually refund them the humongous claims of the expenses they incurred.
In saner climes, political parties are funded through contributions from perhaps three main sources, comprising: membership fees, dues, subscriptions, donations by supporters; contributions by corporate organisations, like donations from those that share their goals, and in some countries, public funding through grants from the state, but in Nigeria, politics and selection of candidates have been heavily monetised.
For most political watchers, as long as money, not competence, character, or popular appeal, operates as a fundamental variable in leadership recruitment of political parties, voters will refrain from voting because commercialised political processes are more likely to produce unpopular, unaccountable, and incompetent candidates.