Iyorchia Ayu Calls APC ‘Rogue Party’ After Announcement Of N100m Presidential Nomination Form

The Chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Mr Iyorchia Ayu, has condemned the N100m placed on the presidential nomination form of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, declaring that it has cast the party as a rogue party.

Ayu further said if anyone of the aspirants obtains the form, the anti-graft agencies should go after such a person to explain the source of his wealth.

He described the cost of the form as too exorbitant a price to pay in a statement through his Special Assistant on Communication and Strategy, Mr Simon Imobo-Tswam, on Thursday.

The APC had on Wednesday during its 11th National Executive Committee meeting pegged the cost of its nomination form at N100 million, the highest in the history of the country.

Ayu said, the “pegging of her (APC) nomination forms at N100m, N50m, N20m etc casts the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the image of rogues and hypocrites.

“Nigerians can all see what the APC is: a fragmented alliance put together to capture power and inflict maximum pain on Nigerians, including their own members.

Ayu reminded Nigerians that in 2014, Gen. Muhammadu Buhari, now President, had told the people that he had to borrow N27m to buy his nomination form.

He said,
“The same man, as leader of his party, has now sanctioned the sale of the same forms at N100m! I am told that’s an increase of N370 percent.

“But in 2014, the PDP was in power and the economy was still booming. The incompetent APC presidency has now run the economy aground, making Nigeria the ‘Poverty Capital of the World’.

“How then can impoverished APC aspirants buy nominations at such prohibitively high costs? And yet, only recently he preached ‘Equal Opportunity’ to them.

“By this latest insensitive action, the APC has disenfranchised thousands of her youths, and dashed the hopes of millions of Nigerian youths who applauded President Buhari when he signed the Not Too Young To Run Bill into law in 2018.

“It is most insensitive, and mind-boggling. In fact, all those buying the N100m and N50m nomination forms should be investigated for fraud.

“We, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), are different. We are a mass movement for the Nigerian people. This is why our nomination fees are soft and democratic.

“When you compare us with the APC, the difference is clear. This is why we must return to power to save Nigerians from this insensitive government.”

The PDP pegged it’s nomination form at N40 million and 16 presidential aspirants, out of the 17 who indicated interest bought the form.

The spokesman of the APC, Mr Felix Morka, did not respond to the text message and calls put to his line for comment as at the time of filing this report.