Omoyele Sowore, a human rights activist has described prospective APC presidential aspirants as crooks. The former presidential candidate disclosed this after the ruling party fixed its nomination forms for N100 million.
Sowore, who is contesting for President on the platform of the African Action Congress, AAC, said on Wednesday that the aspirants must have stolen from the public to be able to afford to purchase the presidential nomination form.
The APC on Wednesday fixed N100 million as the cost for its 2023 presidential aspirants to obtain forms. The party explained that the nomination form would go for N70 million while the expression of interest form costs N30 million.
The fee was approved at the ongoing National Executive Committee (NEC) of the party in Abuja.
Aspirants eyeing the governorship ticket will purchase the form at N50 million.
“State House of Assembly Goes For 2 Million Naira. House Of Representatives Goes For 10 Million Naira. Senate Goes For 20 Million Naira. Governorship Goes For 50 Million Naira and Presidency Goes For 100 Million Naira,” the party had said.
Sowore in a post on his official Twitter handle said, “Crooks in @OfficialAPCNg are going to “reinvest” N100m looted from different treasuries belonging to the Nigerian people to buy the Presidential nomination form of the crooked party! We must say NO to these thieves! #WeCantContinueLikeThis #Revolutionnow.”
Also, the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria, HURIWA, had also condemned the APC leadership for cost fixed for the forms.
HURIWA in a statement signed by Emmanuel Onwubiko said “only political rogues, drug peddling gangsters or persons involved in armed robbery or kidnappings for ransom can afford to gamble away such a lifelong fortune.”
The rights body said anti-graft agencies should beam their searchlight on such aspirants to determine their sources of income.
“This same APC government is unable to meet the funding obligations for federal universities and thereby left millions of students of public schools to roam around in their homes due to industrial strike by university teachers (ASUU) for over two months, yet the politicians have hidden enough stolen cash to buy presidential forms at N100 million each,” the statement read.
“It is a shame that those who seek to govern Nigeria are made to cough up so much money to purchase forms just to signpost their original intention as persons whose only objective would be to first recoup their huge investments and to further impoverish the citizenry.
“We urge Nigerians to initiate citizen’s arrest of anyone who buys the APC Presidential form at the rate of N100 million so the relevant law enforcement agencies are handed over these suspects to explain their source of such huge funds,” HURIWA said.
