Dr. Betta Edu, the APC’s national women’s leader, has stated that any young person who cannot gather N50 million for the party’s nomination form should not consider running for president in 2023.
Edu made the statement on Thursday while defending the ruling party’s N100 million price tag on the APC presidential nomination form.
According to Anaedoonline.ng, the party has also reduced the cost of nomination forms for youthful aspirants in the party by 50%, implying that such individuals will have to pay N50m.
2023: Why We Pegged Nomination Form At N100m – APC
Dayo Israel, the APC National Youth Leader, announced this in a message on his Twitter account on Wednesday.
Nigerians, on the other hand, have voiced their displeasure with the high price.
But, justifying the party’s decision, Edu added that anybody who wishes to oversee Nigeria’s vast riches as president must be able to demonstrate that he or she can manage more than N50 million in order to avoid misbehaving while in power.
She went on to say that for youths interested in elective positions, it is not necessary for the funds to come from their own pockets, but they should be able to find people (including crowdfunding) who believe in them and are willing to put their money where their mouth is, including raising the necessary funds.
She went further to say N50m is not all that it takes to contest a presidential election in Nigeria but such aspirants must have the resources to travel the length and breadth of the country for campaigns as beyond buying the nomination form, there are still several other things to spend money on which the aspirant must budget for.
APC Slashes Nomination Fees By 40% For Aspirants Below 35 Years Old
“There are many ways that young people can generate funding for elections,” she said in an interview with Arise TV.
She added that “If you want to be able to cater for Nigerians, you should have gone above the point where you have to look for N50 million,” as you must be able to prove your ability to manage “so much funds if you’re given that opportunity”.
“When you make up your mind that you want to run, you should be able to prepare adequately for that race. Beyond that, there are many ways that young people can generate funding for elections. It mustn’t be your money. There are many ways young people can generate funds to run for whatever elections they have. Remember, they are not paying 100 percent of whatever others are paying,” Edu said.
“If you’re a young person who truly people believe in you and you truly have the masses, there’s fundraising.
“If you want to run for the president of Nigeria. You need to go through the 36 states; remember that the law states you must have at least 25 percent across the board for you to be able to emerge. So it’s beyond picking up form and sitting down in one place and probably winning only one polling unit, and you say you want to run. That’s not what we should offer as a ruling party; we need to put some seriousness and scale into the game.
2023: Anyone Who Buys APC Party’s N100 Million Presidential Forms Should Be Apprehended – HURIWA
“And if you want to be able to cater for Nigerians, you should have gone above the point where you have to look for N50 million. If you don’t even have access to N50 million and you want to run for the presidency, then there is a problem already. How are we sure that you’ll be able to manage so much funds if you’re given that opportunity.”
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