Latest Political News In Nigeria For This Evening, Sunday 24th April, 2022 can be accessed below..

Full List of APC and PDP Presidential Aspirants Who Attended Aisha Buhari’s Iftar

2023 Elections: Falana Condemns ‘Outrageous, Illegal’ Costs Of APC, PDP Parties’ Nomination Forms

Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has condemned the cost of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) nomination forms.

The APC and PDP had fixed the cost of their presidential nomination forms at N100 million and N40 million respectively.

Femi Falana (SAN)

The cost of the forms, particularly that of the APC, has attracted widespread criticism.

Falana in a statement on Sunday described the actions of both political parties as a mockery of the Not Too Young To Run Bill signed into law by President Muhammadu Buhari in 2018.

“By asking the young people to pay N60 million (being 40 percent discount off the said N100 million), the APC has made a mockery of the Not Too Young to Run Act enacted by the Federal Government under its control. It is undoubtedly clear that the N100 million deposit fixed by APC for its presidential aspirants has excluded the majority of the alleged 40 million members of the party from participating in the party primary elections,” the Senior Advocate of Nigeria said.

“The APC ought to have realised that by restricting politics to the affairs of fat cats it has violated Article 13(1) of the African Charter on Human and People’s Rights (Ratification and Enforcement) Act which states that ‘every citizen shall have the right to participate freely in the government of his country, either directly or through freely chosen representatives in accordance with the provisions of the law.’

“The apparent endorsement of the controversial nomination fees by President Muhammadu Buhari smacks of hypocrisy because, in 2014, he had told Nigerians that he had to borrow N27.5 million to buy his nomination form. In condemning the skyrocketing nomination fees at the material time, I did say that ‘Under section 131 of the Constitution any Nigerian citizen who has attained the age of 40 years and is a member of a political party and sponsored by that party and has been educated up to secondary school level is qualified to contest for presidential election in Nigeria. Section 87 of the Electoral Act which provides for the nomination of candidates by political parties has not prescribed that aspirants shall pay any fee. In the circumstance, political parties may only be permitted by law to charge administrative fees.’

“However, in a careless attempt to play on the collective intelligence of Nigerians, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) accused the APC of ‘inflicting maximum pains on its members’ and that the fees cast the ruling party ‘in the image of rogues and hypocrites’. However, the PDP had earlier pegged its fees for both the expression of interest and nomination forms at N40 million for the President, N21 million for Governorship aspirants. Those aspiring for Senate, are to pay N3.5 million, N2.5 million for those aspiring for the House of Representatives, while state House of Assembly aspirants will pay N600,000

Presidency: Moghalu Decides On Dumping ADC For Either APC, PDP

Nigerian political economist, Kingsley Moghalu has stated categorically that he remains a member and 2023 presidential aspirant of the African Democratic Congress.

Moghalu in a Twitter thread on Sunday morning, April 24, 2023, revealed that he has been consulted by both the ruling All Progressive Congress, APC, and the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, to pick their tickets for the 2023 presidential election.

The economist has, however, turned down the offers, pledging his allegiance to the ADC.

2023: Details Of Aisha Buhari’s Meeting With Presidential Aspirants Emerge

The details of the meeting between the First Lady, Aisha Buhari and some presidential aspirants at the State House have emerged.

GoldenNewsNg  learned that Mrs Buhari had asked the presidential aspirants to choose women as their running mates ahead of the 2023 general elections.

The First Lady said the purpose of inviting the presidential hopefuls to dinner at the Presidential Villa was to solicit their cooperation and support for more women’s involvement in governance.

2023: Saraki Reacts To Northern Elders’ Decision On PDP Consensus Presidential Aspirants

Former president of the Nigerian Senate, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki, has lauded the decision of the Northern Elders’ Forum to endorse him and Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed, as the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) consensus presidential aspirants in the north.

GoldenNewsNg  gathered that the NEF ahead of the 2023 general election on Friday, confirmed Saraki and Governor Mohammed as the consensus aspirants for PDP.

The NEF is said to have followed some processes before concluding on the duo ahead of the 2023 presidential primaries of the party.

Though Governor Aminu Tambuwal of Sokoto State and some other stakeholders have since rejected NEF’s decision claiming it was not based on the principle of equity and transparency, Naija News reports.

Reacting, however, to his name on the consensus list, Saraki in a short message on Sunday through his media adviser, Yusuph Olaniyonu, said the process of arriving at the Northern PDP consensus aspirants was pain-staking, thorough and transparent.

That will be all for today. You can read more political and other Nigerian news on GoldenNewsNg