The registered political parties in Abia State have rejected N400,
000 and N1, 000 levies for chairmanship and councillorship
aspirants, respectively, for the forthcoming local government
elections in the state.
The Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABIASEC) had
asked chairmanship and councillorship aspirants, respectively, to
pay non-refundable levy of N500, 000 and N200, 000
respectively, but the parties rejected the levies.
At a meeting with officials of the ABSEC, yesterday, the chairmen
and secretaries of the political said the aspirants had paid huge
amounts to their parties.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the ABSEC, Justices Igbobuike
Akomas (Rtd), said that aside the nomination fees, aspirants
were expected to pay N15, 000 as administrative charges to the
commission to enable it handle logistical matters during the
elections.
He said: “We earlier pegged the non-refundable fees for
chairmanship candidates at N500, 000 and councillorship at
N200, 000. But, after wide consultation and considering the fact
that times are hard, we came to the conclusion that we should
review the fees downward to 400,000 and 100,000 respectively.”
However, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Chief Donatus Nwamkpa, described the mandatory fees as
extortion, saying that the state government had made provision
for the elections in its 2016 budget.[ads-post]
In his words: “ABSEC is not an internally generated revenue
agency for the state government and, even if there was no
provision for the elections in the budget, the governor can submit
a supplementary budget to the state House of Assembly.
“My party rejects this amount because it is unacceptable and it
has subjected our aspirants to an untold hardship. The
commission should sell their own forms for N50, 000
andN20,000 as applicable in other states.”
Speaking along the same line, the Chairman of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Rev. Augustine Ehiemere,
said the commission should extend the date for submission of
candidates’ names from October 31 to the end of November and
reduce the fees.
000 and N1, 000 levies for chairmanship and councillorship
aspirants, respectively, for the forthcoming local government
elections in the state.
The Abia State Independent Electoral Commission (ABIASEC) had
asked chairmanship and councillorship aspirants, respectively, to
pay non-refundable levy of N500, 000 and N200, 000
respectively, but the parties rejected the levies.
At a meeting with officials of the ABSEC, yesterday, the chairmen
and secretaries of the political said the aspirants had paid huge
amounts to their parties.
Speaking earlier, the Chairman of the ABSEC, Justices Igbobuike
Akomas (Rtd), said that aside the nomination fees, aspirants
were expected to pay N15, 000 as administrative charges to the
commission to enable it handle logistical matters during the
elections.
He said: “We earlier pegged the non-refundable fees for
chairmanship candidates at N500, 000 and councillorship at
N200, 000. But, after wide consultation and considering the fact
that times are hard, we came to the conclusion that we should
review the fees downward to 400,000 and 100,000 respectively.”
However, the Chairman of the All Progressives Congress (APC),
Chief Donatus Nwamkpa, described the mandatory fees as
extortion, saying that the state government had made provision
for the elections in its 2016 budget.[ads-post]
In his words: “ABSEC is not an internally generated revenue
agency for the state government and, even if there was no
provision for the elections in the budget, the governor can submit
a supplementary budget to the state House of Assembly.
“My party rejects this amount because it is unacceptable and it
has subjected our aspirants to an untold hardship. The
commission should sell their own forms for N50, 000
andN20,000 as applicable in other states.”
Speaking along the same line, the Chairman of the All
Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Rev. Augustine Ehiemere,
said the commission should extend the date for submission of
candidates’ names from October 31 to the end of November and
reduce the fees.
No comments:
Post a Comment