The 100 million naira price tag for the All Progressive Congress (APC) presidential ticket continues to generate reactions among Nigerians.
The board member of Youth Initiative for Advocacy, Growth and Advancement Africa (YIAGA), Ezenwa Nwangu, says the prices for nomination forms are a "bottleneck and hindrance on participation and inclusivity" in Nigeria's democracy.
Mr. Nwangu was speaking on Nigeria Info's The Newsroom.
He says there is a need for urgent conversations to be held on how the actions of political parties expand or constrict the democratic process in the country.
Last week, the APC at its 11th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting in Abuja approved the total amounts for Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the 2023 Elections as follows:
* House of Assembly - N2,000,000
* House of Reps - N10,000,000
* Senate - N20,000,000
* Governorship - N50,000,000
* Presidential - N100,000,000
Mr. Nwangu wants political parties to start seeing themselves as public institutions whose decisions affect democratic tenets in the long term.
He however admits that "it is within the rights of the political parties to determine the cost of their nomination forms" and that persons who are running for office seem to have prepared enough funds, claiming they are being sponsored by people's goodwill.
