TUNDE AJAJA examines the practice of politicians and their associates spending millions to buy presidential forms only to pull out of the race at the last minute
At any time in Nigeria’s history, whether in the years of economic boom or now that a whopping 16.82 per cent inflation rate has eroded the value of the naira, N100m is a lot of money.
Thus, when the ruling All Progressives Congress pegged its presidential forms at that sum, the outrage that greeted the announcement was somewhat understandable, especially in a country that has earned the reputation of being the poverty capital of the world, and where the minimum wage is a paltry N30,000 per month.
Clearly, there is a lot N100m can do in a depressed economy like Nigeria’s. That sum, for example, can pay the salaries of 3,333 workers on the minimum wage.
In the opposition Peoples Democratic Party, the N40m it sold its presidential forms can also pay the salaries of 1,333 workers on the minimum wage.
It may not be misplaced, after all, to examine the eventual waste it translates to when aspirants who paid such humongous amounts pulled out of the race or stepped down for others.
During the presidential primary of the APC, which was held on Tuesday and Wednesday, seven aspirants stepped down for a national leader of the party, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, while one aspirant stepped down for the Vice-President, Prof Yemi Osinbajo. Tinubu eventually won the election, scoring 1,271 out of the 2,340 votes.
Aspirants who stepped down during the primary were Dr Kayode Fayemi, Governor Abubakar Badaru, Senator Godswill Akpabio, Senator Ibikunle Amosun, Mr Dimeji Bankole, Senator Ajayi Boroffice, Dr Nicholas Felix and Ms Uju Kennedy Ohanenye, while Dr Emeka Nwajiuba did not show up at the event.
Each of the aspirants paid N100m, save for Ohanenye, who only paid the N30m specified for female aspirants by the party. From this alone, the APC got a bonus of N830m.
In addition to this, various groups bought forms for former President Goodluck Jonathan; President of the African Development Bank, Dr Akinwumi Adesina; Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige; Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva; and the Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, Godwin Emefiele. Some of the forms were not returned, while those who did abandoned the process.
In all, the bonus in the party’s purse spiked to N1.23bn.
In the PDP, on the day of the presidential primary, an aspirant and former Managing Director of FSB International Bank, Mohammed Hayatu-Deen, withdrew from the race; former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, dumped the party for the Labour Party after obtaining the forms; and shortly before voting started, Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State, also an aspirant, stepped down for Atiku Abubakar, who eventually won the party’s ticket. Thus, their N80m became a waste, literally.
That brings the total amount wasted, literally, by aspirants and associates in the two parties to N1.35bn. This is independent of the millions of naira some aspirants spent on chartered flights to ‘consult’ delegates across the country.
Some of the APC aspirants, who left the race for others, are captured below:
