Former Senate President Ken Nnamani has formally joined the 2023 presidential race on the All Progressives Congress (APC) platform.
Mr. Nnamani, while giving evidence in Abuja on Friday, lamented the high cost of the party’s nomination form.
APC recently set the cost of its presidential nomination and expression of interest forms at 100 million naira, 50 million naira for governor, 20 million naira for Senate and 10 million naira for House of Representatives.
He said the costs do not align with “our socio-economic realities in terms of comparative per capita income and purchasing power of Nigerians.”
The former Senate president said the issue needed to be rethought in a bid to improve inclusion of youth, women and the majority of Nigerians who earn wages in an economy that has been depressed.
Mr. Nnamani also said that an Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to provide guidelines on the cost of the nomination form.
“Perhaps it is time for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to establish guidelines for parties on the cost of nominations and campaign expenses. I will support such regulatory control which will enhance fiscal responsibility and inclusive politics in Nigeria,” he said.
Despite the outrage over the exorbitant nomination quotas, the ruling party continues to defend her.
The party’s national chairman, Abdulahi Adamu, said the N100 million nomination form should not be costly for applicants.
He argued that if a presidential hopeful can’t raise the money, he has no reason to be in the race.
southeastern presidency
Speaking about the clamor for the presidency of the southeast, Mr. Nnamani, a native of Enugu state, said the region owes Nigeria the best candidate.
He said many in the Southeast, as well as some lawmakers, asked him to take advantage of the “characteristic honest, competent and disciplined leadership” he offered to the Senate.
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“I am delighted that there is a growing consensus that the next president must come from the southeast. I believe that the people of the southeast owe other Nigerians the reciprocal respect of bringing their best to lead.”
Mr. Nnamani will have to compete with other challengers from the southeast, including Ebonyi State Governor David Umahi Rochas Okorochas, Labor and Productivity Minister Chris Ngige, State Minister for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.
Others from outside the region seeking the APC presidential nomination include Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, former Lagos Governor Bola Tinubu, Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi, Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello, Governor Ben Ayade de Cross River and the former governor of Ogun. , Ibikunle Amosun.
Protesting the ruling party’s inability to micro-zone the presidency in the southeast, Orji Uzor Kalu, the former governor of Abia state and a sitting senator, said he was considering withdrawing from the race.
Plan for Nigeria
Nnamani said he has the template used by the leaders of South Korea and Japan for rapid economic development.
To transform the country, he stated that he will restructure Nigeria from inefficient consumption to production.
He stated that there is a need to “recover the state from the clutches of despair and dejection and chart a future of hope and achievement for all Nigerians”.
Mr. Nnamani was President of the Senate from 2005 to 2007 and was instrumental in stifling former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s third-term agenda.
Mr. Nnamani joined APC on January 22, 2017.
Last month, he lost the bid to become APC National Vice President (South) during the March 26 convention. He resigned from the consensus candidate, Emma Enukwu.
On June 25, 2020, Mr. Nnamani was appointed to the 12-member APC Caregiver Extraordinary Convention Planning Committee (CECPC) to represent the South East area.