- According to the party, “the payment of N24,900,000 was made to the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) and receipts of payments have been issued to the party’s leadership.
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in Kwara State has confirmed that it has paid approximately N25 million for nomination forms for all its candidates contesting in the upcoming September 21 local government elections.
This was contained in a statement signed by the party’s State Publicity Secretary, Olusegun Olusola Adewara, on Thursday, in Ilorin.
This payment was made to the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) and receipts have been issued to the party’s leadership.
According to the party’s statement, 16 Local Government Area (LGA) chairmanship candidates and 193 councilorship candidates will be fielded in the election.
Despite a court judgment declaring KWASIEC’s imposition of fees on nomination forms as illegal, the PDP has chosen to proceed with the payment to demonstrate its commitment to the election.
Each chairmanship candidate is required to pay an additional N350,000 for tax clearance, while councilorship candidates must pay N168,000 each.
The PDP expressed its determination to “rescue the people of Kwara from the current hardship and misgovernance” through its participation in the election.
The statement reads: ”The payment of twenty-four million, nine hundred thousand naira (N24,900,000) was made to the Kwara State Internal Revenue Service (KWIRS) and receipts of payments have been issued to the party’s leadership.
“They have now proceeded to the KWASIEC office to obtain forms on behalf of all its candidates.”
Earlier, KWASIEC had announced the sale of its nomination forms, with N350,000 for chairmanship positions while councilorship positions were pegged at N100,000, contrary to the prior agreement where a maximum of N200,000 was set for chairmanship and N50,000 for councilorship positions.
The party stated that aside from this payment for nomination forms, each of the chairmanship candidates is also mandated to pay another N350,000 for tax clearance while councilorship candidates are paying N168,000 each.
The PDP noted that, although, by the judgment of Honorable Justice Binta Murtala-Nyako of the Supreme Court of Nigeria, KWASIEC has acted outside the law in imposing fees on its nomination forms, the party remains committed to the forthcoming local government elections in its bid to rescue the people of Kwara from the current hardship and misgovernance.
“In our effort to rescue the people of Kwara from the hardship and misgovernance imposed by the Abdulrahman-led government, we have chosen to endure and comply with their rules to ensure we do not disappoint the people of Kwara, who have long yearned for this election,” the statement concluded.