Okoi Obono-Obla, who used to be the head of the Special Presidential Panel on Recovery of Public Property, has told the All Progressives Congress (APC) not to force people who want to run for office to pay a lot of money for nomination forms just to rig the process in favor of their chosen candidates.
Obono-Obla issued the warning in a statement from Calabar, saying that these kinds of actions could hurt the party’s internal democracy and make it harder for good candidates to run.
The former aide to the president said that the cost of party nomination forms is going up and that candidates should not have to pay between ₦10 million and ₦50 million only to be denied a fair contest.
He said that the money power of party leaders should not decide who gets to be in political office.
He said, “People who want to run for office shouldn’t have to pay between ₦10 million, ₦20 million, and ₦50 million for forms only to be denied a fair contest.”
Obono-Obla said that the ruling party’s credibility depends on how fair and open its primaries are.
He said, “Fairness and openness must guide the primaries.” He also said that fair internal processes would make the party stronger and give voters better representatives.
He also said that fairness in the nomination process would help the party keep the trust and faith of its members.
The former aide also talked about his time during the 2023 election cycle, saying that he had to sell a house he built in Calabar for ₦22 million in order to buy a senatorial nomination form.
He said that even though it cost him money, the process was rigged by choosing delegates who were loyal to certain interests within the party leadership in Cross River State.
Obono-Obla also said that delegates were given a lot of money during the primary election in Ikom.
He said, “Each delegate got between ₦200,000 and ₦300,000,” and he claimed that the money came from the state.
He says that a lot of party members are unhappy with the quality of representation that came out of the process.
As the APC gets ready for its primaries before the 2027 general elections, he told them to make sure they are fair, equal, and open.
The ex-presidential aide also said that party members should be able to choose candidates who really represent their interests without any restrictions.
