Sun. Feb 9th, 2025
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Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN), Oyo State Chapter has condemned decision of the Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) to charge nomination fees for the prospective candidates in the forthcoming local government elections in the state.

While reading the letter delivered to the electoral body during a peaceful protest to OYSIEC office in Ibadan on Monday, SPN Secretary, Ayodeji Akinwunmi described the decision as illegal and demand immediate reversal of the decision.

In the letter which is titled: “SPN Demands Reversal of Decision to Charge Fee For Nomination Form”, SPN, welcomed the decision of the commission to conduct election into the 33 local government areas scheduled to hold on the 15th May, 2021. It however brought to the notice of the commission its dissatisfaction and displeasure over decision to charge nomination fees for all the prospective candidates willing to contest in the election.

The letter partly reads:

“SPN learnt from the media reports that the political activities for the election shall last between 17th of February and 14th of May, 2021 while every prospective candidate for the chairmanship and councillorship position will be expected to pay a sum of N250, 000 and N100, 000 respectively to obtain nomination forms for their respective position. We condemn and reject the decision of the commission charge fee to obtain nomination form. As far as we are concerned in SPN, nomination forms for position are meant to be obtained by all the interested candidates at no cost.”

“This has been settled in the court judgment delivered by Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako, where it was declared that neither the INEC nor SIEC is empowered by the Constitution to prescribe or charge political parties fees to field candidates in elections. It is in the light of this, we of the SPN hold that OYSIEC decision to prescribe nomination fee is illegal and hereby demand immediate reversal!”

“The OYSIEC is a public institution whose establishment by the state government is supported by the Constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria to conduct election into local government areas across the state. This therefore implies that the funding of OYSIEC including the provision of materials to facilitate its function and the basis for its establishment should be the sole responsibility of the state government and not political parties or individuals that are to participate in the election.”

“Again, charging candidates fee for nomination form is capable of undermining the credibility of the election. The election will be less participatory and be reduced to a contest among few candidates of ruling political parties like APC and PDP who have public money at their disposal to throw around. Also to participate in such “cash and carry” election are other pro-capitalist parties including those often sponsored by moneybags and godfathers with their ill- gotten wealth with a view to loot public resources as their returns on investment in candidates. Except this decision is reversed, the election will be far from being credible and fair as it is only anti-poor, moneybag parties that can effectively and fully participate in such an election”

“It is in the consideration of this inherent danger in the decision of the commission to charge nomination fees towards the May 15 LGA election that SPN calls on OYSIEC to immediately rescind the decision and allow all candidates willing to participate in the election to have equal access to obtain the nomination forms without any form of discrimination. Otherwise, we will conclude that the decision is a deliberate attempt to exclude the poor masses from participating in the election so as not to endanger the chances of candidates of anti-poor parties especially APC and PDP in the election.”

Also while addressing journalists shortly after delivering the letter to OYSIEC, National Chairperson of the party, Abiodun Bamgboye revealed that they had earlier delivered similar letter to Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to immediately re-register some unconstitutionally deregistered political parties. He stressed that charging nomination fee will undermine the credibility of the election.

Bamgboye stated that he contested in the 2019 general election as the gubernatorial candidate of SPN and he didn’t pay a dime, stressing that if INEC could be law abiding, then OYSIEC should rescind its decision.

“We are aware that OYSIEC may be having some financial difficulties here and there, but we feel that it is wrong to transfer that burden to candidates or political parties. OYSIEC is an institution of the state government and it is expected to be funded by the same government.”

“If OYSIEC insists on collecting nomination fees, the danger there is that the election will become a mere contest among those who have money, the billionaires. And if that happens, the outcome of that election will never attract any benefit to Nigerian people at the grassroots. It is on this basis that our party feels that the decision should be dropped for now to allow all candidates irrespective of their political parties to have equal access to the form at no cost.” Bamgboye stated.

Addressing the concern of SPN, OYSIEC Commissioner in charge of media, Babatunde Adeniyi said the commission will continue to uphold the rule of law, stressing that, by charging nomination fees, the commission has acted in line with the law that established it. He however promised that commission will get in touch with SPN to iron things out.

“That is the position of the law. Oyo State Independent Electoral Commission (OYSIEC) Law 1999 specifically and expressedly states that a prescribed fee must be charged for all the candidates that are going to carry the flag of their political party for them to get the nomination form from OYSIEC, and that is what we are doing. We are just upholding the law.” Adeniyi emphasised.

It would be recalled that OYSIEC, recently in its released election time table, said candidates for chairmanship and councillorship positions are to pay ₦250, 000 and ₦100, 000 Naira respectively.

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