Nigeria’s largest political parties are exploiting a loophole in the rules guiding their conduct established by the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC) to impose excessive nomination fees, BusinessDay findings show, a development that opens the parties to litigation in future.
Regulation 2 of INEC Regulations on the Conduct of Political Party Primaries precludes political parties from imposing high nomination fees.
“Political parties must not create rules or impose conditions or set high expression of interest or nomination fees that could exclude aspirants on the basis of sex, religion, ethnicity, circumstance of birth or wealth,” the rule states.
The regulation was made to supplement the provisions of the 1999 CFRN and the Electoral Act 2010 (as amended) and made particularly pursuant to Paragraph 15, Part 1 of the Third Schedule to the Electoral Act to ensure free, fair and transparent party primaries, including, to ensure that the legality of process of selecting candidates.
Legal analysts who spoke to BusinessDay said that by not being explicit on what parties can charge as nomination fees, INEC was creating a wiggle room for parties to discriminate against candidates.
“I do not see why INEC should not implement its regulation, which gives it the power to sanction the parties,” Paul Ananaba, a senior advocate of Nigeria, said.
Ananaba said INEC has the constitutional power to make regulations as well as to implement these regulations.
The ruling party, the All Progressive Congress (APC), has pegged its nomination and expression of interest forms for presidential aspirants at N100 million, while the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) settled for N40 million for presidential aspirants in its party.
The APC is charging N50 million for governorship aspirants; N20 million and N10 million for senatorial and House of Representatives aspirants respectively; and N2 million for state House of Assembly aspirants. However, aspirants under 40 years in APC will get a 50 per cent discount on the fees, while women and persons living with disabilities will pay only for the expression of interest forms.
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In the case of the PDP, its charges are: N21 million, for governorship; N3.5 million, Senate; N2.5 million, House of Representatives; and N1.5 million, state House of Assembly.
Many Nigerians, including human rights lawyer Femi Falana, have faulted the APC’s N100 million presidential nomination fee, describing it as immoral in the face of the country’s minimum wage of N30,000, which some states are unable to pay. Muhammadu Sanusi, former Emir of Kano, found it absurd that a poverty-stricken country like Nigeria would fix a contest form at N100 million for the presidential ticket of a political party.
When contacted on the issue, Festus Okoye, INEC national commissioner for information and voter education, said the nomination form costs are issues within the whims of the political parties as membership is voluntary.
“As a party member, if you believe that the guidelines or fees for nomination forms has excluded you or has discriminated against you, under section 84 (14) of the electoral act 2022, you have the right to go and apply to the courts for such to be set aside,” Okoye told BusinessDay.
Section 84 (14) of the Electoral Act 2022 provides that an aspirant who complains that any of the provisions of this Act and the guidelines of a political party have not been complied with in the selection or nomination of a candidate of a political party for election may apply to the Federal High Court for redress.
Wale Ogunade, lawyer and advocate for non-profit Democracy Rule of Law & Justice, said a person could have a legal basis to challenge the imposition of high expression of interests and nomination fees by these parties.
Political parties say the high cost of nomination forms and expression of interest forms provides the funds required to settle campaign costs and administrative expenses, including the salaries of administrative officers, who see to the daily management of the affairs of the party as well as rents on the properties the secretariats of the parties are located.
These parties list in their constitutions the various sources through which they can be financed including through sale of nomination forms.
Article 22 of the APC Constitution provides that the party can obtain funds through subscriptions, fees and levies on members. PDP, under Article 51 (6) of its Constitution, has as one of its funding sources, money generated from the sale of nomination forms.
However, experts say the implication of Regulation 2 of the INEC Regulations is that while parties can raise funds through the sale of nomination and expression of interest forms, it should not preclude a majority of the people from taking part in running for elective positions.
According to them, doing so defeats the intrinsic nature of a political party as a vehicle through which a citizen may run for office.
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