Edo chapter of the Labour Party (LP) has said that any aspirant who can not afford the fees for expression of interest and nomination form lacked the capacity to run for governorship election.
Comrade Kelly Ogbalol, Edo Chairman, LP, stated this on Wednesday in Benin while speaking on the N30 million nomination fee charged by the party, among other issues.
Ogbalol said the N30 million nomination fee charged by the party was the lowest among the three major political parties contesting the election in Edo.
He stated that the cost of elections into political offices in Nigeria was quite expensive, as witnessed from the recent general elections.
“Aside from 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 said that funding political parties was a challenge and that the sale of forms was a major source through which political parties were funded.
He said that two governorship aspirants had bought the party forms, a man and a woman, urging others to do the same.
Ogbalol appealed to the party aspirants to make the necessary sacrifice by participating in the exercise.
He assured that the party was determined to ensure a level playing field for all aspirants, leading to the emergence of a credible candidate.
He further said that the party had reduced the fee for women by 50 per cent in order to ensure their participation in the governorship election.
He denied the allegation that the party received N500 million from the state government in order to feature a neophyte as her candidate for the election.
