Prominent Nigerian lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN) has knocked the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for the high cost of their presidential nomination forms.
It had been reported that the ruling APC had pegged its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at ₦100 million.
The National Publicity Secretary of the party, Felix Morka, made this known while addressing reporters after the 11th National Executive meeting of the party held at the Transcorp Hotel in Abuja last week Wednesday.
The APC spokesman stated that the nomination form would go for ₦70 million, while expression of interest forms would sell for ₦30 million.
Similarly, the opposition PDP had fixed its 2023 presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at ₦40 million.
According to the party, the nomination form would go for ₦30 million, while expression of interest forms would sell for ₦10 million.
Speaking with reporters in Ekiti at the 10th year coronation anniversary of the Alawe of Ilawe-Ekiti, Oba Ajibade Alabi, Falana said the two parties were encouraging corruption with the fees of the forms.
The human rights lawyer added that the exorbitant cost of the presidential forms was illegal and the most expensive in the world by any political party.
Speaking further, Falana claimed the anti-corruption crusade of the Muhammadu Buhari-led administration had been defeated with the presidential pardon granted to former Governors Jolly Nyame and Joshua Dariye of Taraba and Plateau states respectively.
He stated that the president’s action shows that his government had abandoned the corruption fight which it used to campaign to gain power and embraced corruption wholeheartedly.
The senior lawyer also urged the federal government to tackle the activities of terrorists in the North and solve the worsening insecurity in the country.
