Ahead of the primaries for the September 21 governorship election in Edo, the state chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has declared that any aspirants who cannot afford the fee for expression of interest and nomination form lacks the capacity to run for governorship election.
The party state chairman, Ogbalol Kelly, stated this on Wednesday in Benin while speaking on the N30 million fee charged by the party, among other issues.
Kelly said the N30m nomination fee is the lowest compared to the other two major political parties contesting the election charged.
He explained that the cost of elections into political offices in Nigeria is quite expensive as witnessed from the recent general elections.
“Aside being qualified to contest election, aspirants must also be ready to show capability and capacity to fund campaigns and other election requirements.
“Therefore, any aspirant who cannot afford the fee lacks the capacity to run for the governorship election,” he added.
Kelly said funding political parties is a challenge and that the sale of forms is a major source through which political parties are funded.
“Issues that may arise as a result of primaries and election itself which has to do with litigation arising from such activities as well as other logistics issues, make it imperative for the parties to charge a reasonable fee like ours, so that it can adequately discharge its responsibilities during and after the elections,” he stated.
He disclosed that two governorship aspirants had bought the party forms, a man and a woman, urging others to do same.
Kelly appealed to the governorship aspirants to make the necessary sacrifice by participating in the exercise, assuring them the party is determined to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants leading to the emergence of a credible candidate.
He said the party had reduced the fee for women by 50 per cent in order to ensure their participation in the governorship election.
Meanwhile, Kelly denied allegation that the party received a sum of N500m from the state government in order to feature a neophyte as its candidate in the election.
He noted that the guideline currently released by the leadership of the party with regard to governorship election in the state is in line with the provision of the constitution and the electoral act.
