Bashir Ahmed, a former aide to ex-President Muhammadu Buhari, has voiced his concerns over the steep cost of nomination forms for the upcoming local government elections in Kano State. The Kano State Independent National Electoral Commission (KANSIEC) has set the nomination fees at ₦10 million for chairmanship candidates and ₦5 million for councillorship candidates.
Ahmed, a prominent member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), expressed his dismay, stating that the high costs are unaffordable for many party members who wish to run for office. He questioned why KANSIEC is selling the nomination forms instead of allowing political parties to handle the process.
“I still haven’t gotten a satisfactory answer. Why did KANSIEC, the Kano electoral body, set a nomination fee for those interested in contesting in the upcoming chairmanship and councillorship elections in the state, instead of allowing the political parties to do so?” Ahmed asked.
He further expressed doubt that the APC, as the opposition in the state, could afford such high fees, and even questioned whether the ruling party could manage it.
Typically, KANSIEC provides election forms to successful candidates after parties have conducted their primaries, and these forms are given for free. However, the current situation involves the sale of nomination forms by the electoral body, which has sparked controversy and criticism.
This issue harks back to a precedent set during the tenure of former Kano State Governor Umar Ganduje, when the then KANSIEC chairman, Mukhtari Yahya Usman, announced the sale of nomination forms for local government elections in late 2020.
News Editor