The Nigerian electorate must make a strong statement against money politics in 2019. The general elections will take place between February and March 2019 and politicians are already wooing the electorate with money, bags of rice and salt.
In 2015, politicians sold their choice houses and property to have a stash of war chest needed to execute their political projects. Two months to the 2019 election, the media has been silent on who is selling what, probably because politicians have chosen to act discreetly to avoid being exposed or arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Politicians often spend money on procurement of forms, wooing of the electorate and vote-buying. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) have shown poor judgment in the area of stemming money politics by pricing their forms out of the reach of youths and those who may not have the wherewithal.
The APC, in a statement in September, said presidential aspirants would pay N45m, while governorship aspirants would pay N2.5m for expression of interest form and N20m for nomination form, putting the total at N22.5m.
For a senatorial ticket, an aspirant was asked to pay N1m for the expression of interest form and N6m for a nomination form.
For the House of Representatives, aspirants paid N3.85m, including N350,000 for the expression of interest form and N3.5m for the nomination form.
Those seeking tickets to the House of Assembly paid N850,000, including N100,000 for the expression of interest form and N750,000 for the nomination form.
Because it is in opposition at the moment, the PDP cut down the cost of its nomination forms.
Presidential aspirants paid N12m, while governorship aspirants were asked to pay N6m.
Aspirants to the Senate and the House of Representatives paid N3.5m and N1.5m respectively.
Also, Houses of Assembly aspirants paid N600000.
Official audit reports submitted to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in 2015 showed that the ruling APC and opposition PDP spent a combined total of N7.7 billion on the 2015 general elections. The PDP spent N2.9 billion while the APC spent N4.8 billion on the hotly-contested polls.
However, this is far from the truth as empirical evidence showed that politicians and their goons openly distributed large sums of money, including dollars, across the country.
In their work, ‘The Phenomenon of Money Politics and Nigeria’s Democratisation: An Exploration of the Fourth Republic’, Rauf Tunde Sakariyau, Fatima Lawal Aliu and Muhammed Adamu noted that buying and selling of votes have become an accepted norm in Nigeria’s political arrangement, threatening her readiness to embrace democratic virtues.
“Vying for political posts is left for rich individuals due to the huge amount of money involved in preparation for elective offices. Though the Electoral Act regulates political finance, its application is not obtainable. The electoral body that is responsible for monitoring and regulating expenses of candidates has not been vibrant in such obligation,” they said.
According to section 91 of the Electoral Act, 2010 as amended, the maximum expenses to be incurred by a candidate at a presidential election is N1 billion. For governorship, a candidate must not exceed N200 million. The Act also stipulates sanctions for candidates who flout the campaign spending limits. The INEC had earlier threatened N1 million or 12 months imprisonment or both for presidential candidates who spend above the limits. The body equally said governorship candidates that spent above the limits would be forced to pay N800,000 or spend nine months in jail or both.
“Where has this been done?” Onyeka Omekagu, a political analyst, asked.
“INEC’s hands are tied, because the ruling party or president may also overspend. So, do you, for example, expect INEC to go after President Muhammadu Buhari if, for any reason, he overspends in 2019 and wins?”
“This is why we need systems to work,” Omekagu added.
Analysts argue that politicians are overspending because they believe that they will not just recover what they have expended but will make more.
“They are all desperate because as a legislator in the Senate, you pocket N13 million monthly. So, you find people quitting their jobs to go for the Senate. You also find people who are career politicians. The truth is that there is too much money in our politics,” said Muhammad Dunga, a public affairs analyst.
He argued that halting this trend is in the hands of the electorate who must say ‘no’ with their PVCs.
“Ignore those politicians. They only want to give you a bag of rice but steal your bags of blessings when they get to power,” Dunga urged the electorate.
According to the Brookings Institution, Nigeria is now the poverty capital of the world with a record 87 million people living in extreme poverty and 8,000 people sliding into extreme poverty on a daily basis. Unemployment rate in Nigeria increased to 23.10 percent in the third quarter of 2018 from 22.70 percent in the second quarter of 2018, according to the latest figure from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS).
“Our people are obviously hungry, but we do not have to stem hunger with N500 or N1,000. If you wish to stem hunger, chase away money politicians because they steal your commonwealth,”Omekagu said.
The 2019 election nears, the Nigerian electorate must take a firm position on this malaise.
