National Women Leader of the All Progressives Congress, APC, Betta Edu, said Thursday that any youth aspiring to become the president of Nigeria in 2023 should have access to at least N50 million.

The ruling party had on Wednesday, announced prices of the nomination forms for various political positions.

While the party’s presidential hopefuls are expected to pay N100 million to buy the nomination forms, governorship hopefuls will pay N50 million.

It would be recalled that APC had announced a 50 per cent reduction in the price of nomination forms for individuals under 40 years of age.
However, in an interview with Arise TV, yesterday, Edu defended the nomination forms’ price tag, adding that there were many ways young people could generate funding for elections.

She said: “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.”

Wondering how anyone who cannot access such an amount can be able to manage so much funds, if given the opportunity, the APC women leader said: “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 per cent of whatever others are paying.
“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 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.

“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.

jmoore:
Below is the list of what most states in USA charge for a candidate that wants to partake in primaries.

Governor: $5,000.
U.S. Senate: $5,000.
U.S. House: $2,500.
State Senate: $1,000.
State House: $500.
Judicial offices: $500.
Countywide elected offices: $100.
County Commission or Constable: $25.

Let's compare one state in USA and a country called Nigeria.

GDP of Texas 2021: 2.0 Trillion dollars
Budget of Texas 2021: 261.5 billion dollars.
Presidential aspirants in Texas pay a $5,000 filing fee.

GDP of Nigeria 2021: 446.9 billion dollars
Budget of Nigeria 2021: 23.3 billion US dollars (13.6 trillion naira)
APC presidential form: 170,940 US dollars (100 million naira)

Compare that to a poor country called Nigeria. APC decided to set the price of governorship at $85,470 (50 million naira). That is 16 times more than what is paid in USA. While that of president set at 170,940 US dollars (100 million naira) is 34 times more than what is paid in USA.

Until INEC sets a REASONABLE limit on how much political parties can charge, this ridiculous trend will continue.

Are our destinies tied to APC and PDP?
Many are complaining that these top two parties are disenfranchising young candidates with their prices. We have more younger people than old people. If only many Nigerians think like me, APC and PDP would have been abandoned for a long time. But most of the electorates love 'abusive relationship'.

If in other countries, a young person can win an election with a unpopular party, why can't it happen in Nigeria?

jmoore:
Below is the list of what most states in USA charge for a candidate that wants to partake in primaries.

Governor: $5,000.
U.S. Senate: $5,000.
U.S. House: $2,500.
State Senate: $1,000.
State House: $500.
Judicial offices: $500.
Countywide elected offices: $100.
County Commission or Constable: $25.

Let's compare one state in USA and a country called Nigeria.

GDP of Texas 2021: 2.0 Trillion dollars
Budget of Texas 2021: 261.5 billion dollars.
Presidential aspirants in Texas pay a $5,000 filing fee.

GDP of Nigeria 2021: 446.9 billion dollars
Budget of Nigeria 2021: 23.3 billion US dollars (13.6 trillion naira)
APC presidential form: 170,940 US dollars (100 million naira)

Compare that to a poor country called Nigeria. APC decided to set the price of governorship at $85,470 (50 million naira). That is 16 times more than what is paid in USA. While that of president set at 170,940 US dollars (100 million naira) is 34 times more than what is paid in USA.

Until INEC sets a REASONABLE limit on how much political parties can charge, this ridiculous trend will continue.

Are our destinies tied to APC and PDP?
Many are complaining that these top two parties are disenfranchising young candidates with their prices. We have more younger people than old people. If only many Nigerians think like me, APC and PDP would have been abandoned for a long time. But most of the electorates love 'abusive relationship'.

If in other countries, a young person can win an election with a unpopular party, why can't it happen in Nigeria?