An All Progressives Congress,
APC, Presidential aspirant, Christmas Akpodiete has dragged the ruling party
before an Abuja Federal High Court over the high cost of its nomination forms.
Joined in the suit are the
Attorney General of the Federation, AGF, Abubakar Malami, the Independent
National Electoral Commission, INEC.
In the suit marked No.
FHC/ABJ/CS/951/2018, the presidential aspirant urged the court to restrain the
APC from going ahead with its scheduled primary elections due to its high cost
of forms.
He noted that should they go
ahead with the scheduled primaries, the court should declare such primaries
null and void.
Akpodiete also prayed the court
to restrain INEC from recognizing such primaries, pending the determination of
the substantial suit.
The Presidential aspirant
stressed that the nomination fees charged by political parties are not only
‘ridiculous and unaffordable’, but unconstitutional.
He said, “The nomination fees are
repugnant to the rules of natural justice, equity and good conscience.
“It’s an attempt by the Nigeria
political oligarchs to make nonsense of the just passed (NOT TOO YOUNG TO RUN
LAW), and it is a calculated move to deprive the Nigerian people their
constitutionally guaranteed right to run for public office in their own
country.”
Akpodiete also urged the court to
give a judicial breath to this matter by pegging the nomination fees for all
elective positions at “N18,000,00. (Eighteen thousand naira only), because that
is the nation national minimum wage of the country.”
He noted that if the nomination
fee was beyond the amount the ordinary Nigerian worker earns, N18,000 monthly,
they would be “deprived the capacity to achieve their constitutionally
guaranteed right, which includes the right to run for public office.”
Speaking on the suit, counsel to
the aspirant, F.B Ehikioya, said, “The action is based on a breach of the
fundamental human right of all aspirants and any attempt to keep the Nigerian
people down shall be collectively rejected”.
The matter is yet to be assigned
to a judge.
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