Thirty Million Naira Nomination Form Could Cost Labour Party Victory- Osaze Bazuaye

Chief Consultant/ Chairman, Board of Directors, OzeeReel Property/ Consult limited, Edo South Senatorial district Coordinator, (NNPOO) Nigeria Need Peter Obi and Datti Support Group, Oredo Ward 11 Presidential Campaign Council (PCC), Comrade Osazee Endurance Bazuaye has said that the prohibitive fee for the Labour Party nomination form for the Edo September 22nd 2024 Governorship election in Edo state could cost the party the desired victory.

He said this earlier yesterday while fielding questions from Newsmen in Benin city the Edo state capital.

According to him, the thirty Million Naira for the procurement of the Party's nomination form is prohibitively exorbitant and therefore calls on the leadership of the Party to have a rethink so as to position the party for electoral victory in the coming Edo governorship election.

According to him, "30 million Naira nomination form for the Edo state labor Party is not friendly because one of the pillars of the foundation of Labour Party and Obedient movement is to ensure an all inclusive governance whereby every body, irrespective of tribe or status, is involved in the political process of the party. It is the belief of the party and the Obedient movement that no one should be disenfranchised in anyway whatsoever.

" As one of the leaders of the Obedient movement in Edo South who strongly believes in the doctrine of all inclusive democratic process for which Labour Party is founded, I would like to see a situation where everyone both the rich, the middle class or the poor are all part of the democratic process of labour Party and all should have equal rights and equal access to participate in the electioneering engagements of Labour Party without non being excluded or restricted because of monetary reasons and this is the philosophy of our leader, Mr Peter Obi.

"One of the reasons why some of us leaders in Edo South joined Labour Party in Edo state is the vision and the ideology of our leader Mr Peter Obi which the Labour Party holds at very high esteem, the idea and belief that non should be restricted from the political or electioneering processes for whatever reason. The Party's ideology premised on all inclusive engagements in the political and in the governance process of of Labour Party and of Mr Peter Obi was the attraction in Labour Party and we as followers share in this vision but look at what is happening in Labour Party today where the Party that prided itself as a party for the masses is now making its nomination form accessible to only the money bags for a whooping sum of Thirty Million Naira thereby restricting some other people who do not have the financial wherewithal but who are cerebrally and morally fortified with competence and integrity but are now being disenfranchised because of inability to afford the required thirty million (N30,000000:00) for the nomination form. This is outrageous and simply not different from what other political Parties have been doing that have disenfranchised people who have the pedigree, competence, integrity and moral capital and qualifications to govern but are restricted by financial inability. How can we get good governance in Edo state where there is no level play ground for all to participate. 

" I strongly believe that the leadership of Labour Party in Edo state has taken the wrong step in this direction as thirty million Naira is restrictively prohibitive as it will exclude a section of the society from the democratic and electioneering engagements.

" The coveted position of governor is a public office and the citizens of the state are guaranteed by the provisions of the constitution to aspire to occupy and not for sale to a highest bidder. So, the cost of the nomination form should not be that which should exclude some segments of the society. It doesn't mean that it is only those who can afford the 30 million Naira nomination form that are capable or competent of governing the state. The cost of the party nomination form should be made affordable to the average people who are interested in the governorship contest and such individuals should be examined and interrogated to verify their competence level, moral strength of character, qualifications, integrity and other criteria that are prerequisites components as requirements but they should not be excluded on the bases that they are not financially capable.

" Look at Peter Obi, he already had money before coming into politics but he said he was not going to spend his money on politics but to play politics by the rules of engagement. He said that if you spend your money on politics that you will want to recoup your money invested and that such tendency has the potential to impart negatively on good governance.

" Therefore we in Labour Party must understand that the original idea of non dependent on money politics which the Obidient movement stands for must be respected because money bag politics is not our ideology in labour party and so it must be discouraged in every way possible. If it was the issue of money, Obi would not have been so popular in the last election, it was not the issue of money but his personality, his integrity, his pedigree, his antecedents are what ensured that he was more popular than all other contestants put together.

" Therefore, let me use this opportunity and medium to call on the leadership of Labour Party both at the state and national levels, the National Working Committee (NWC) to have a rethink on the prohibitive cost of obtaining the party's nomination form so as to widen and deepen the process so as to give room for labour party to produce the best candidate to fly the flag of the party because as it were presently the exorbitant cost of the nomination form will deprive many interested and qualified members of the party from the contest as such people will withdraw from the contest.

" Labour Party should not imitate the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) or the All Progressives Congress (APC) but strictly adhere to its vision of allowing an all inclusive participation in its electioneering processes.

" We in Labour Party do not believe in money bag politics but we emphasis on integrity and competence of the individual and not the individual's financial standing. We say give us a good candidate and we as members would bring out our money to sponsor such candidate, that is our ideology and not the candidate that want to go serve the people would be made to go looking for money to spend on the electioneering processes.

"Labour Party as at today stands a very good chance of producing the next governor of Edo state if the right parameters as criteria are employed in determining who eventually flys the flag of the party at the governorship contest because I can boldly say without any iota of doubt that 70 per cent of voters in Edo state are for Labour Party but if at the end of the day Labour Party spoils their chances by fielding the wrong person because of the prohibitive and exorbitant cost of nomination form that would exclude and disenfranchise good and credible candidates that the masses would have loved to vote for, then the electorates would have no other choice than voting for the candidates of the All Progressives Congress (APC) or the Peoples Democratic party (PDP) candidates and such could cost labour party the much needed victory.

In his reaction, the Image Maker and Publicity Secretary of Edo state Labour Party, Comrade Sam Oroukpa said that the nomination form for Labour Party as it stands is the lowest compared to the Peoples Democratic Party ticket which is about Fourty Million Naira while that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is Fifty Million Naira. The Labour Party according to him, is most considerate in the sales of its nomination form.

According to him, the nomination form for Labour Party is the lowest comparatively speaking considering the fact that the nomination form for the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) is about Fourty Million while that of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is Fifty Million Naira. The Labour Party did not put any price on its expression of interest for their female aspirants but only on the nomination form. So, if someone aspiring to govern a state in Nigeria can not afford thirty Million Naira for his Party's nomination form then I don't see such individual as a serious aspirant.

"The national working committee took into considerations many variables considering the exigencies of the times before arriving at that figure and so whoever is planning to contest for the Edo state election and can't afford the nomination form, I wonder then how such individual will fund his or her campaign round the various wards and the entire eighteen local government areas of the state and so if some people feel that Labour Party should peg their nomination form at Five thousand Naira so that everybody can afford the form is a big mistake.

He further added that politics in Nigeria is capital intensive pointing out that it is not Labour Party's making.

"Our Party has the highest number of about 35 aspirants for the governorship contest so for anybody to be complaining of the cost of our Party's nomination form is unfounded and ridiculous