APC aspirant drags party, AGF, INEC to court over cost of nomination form

Christmas Akpodiete

A Presidential aspirant under the All Progressives Congress, APC, , 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.