2023: PDP may give free nomination forms to youths

The Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, may offer its nomination forms free of charge to contestants less than 35 years for all elective categories in the 2023 general elections.

The proposal was part of a recommendation by the party’s National Reconciliation and Strategy Committee, NRSC, chaired by former Senate President Bukola Saraki.

However, they will still be required to pay the Expression of Interest fee, which is far lower than nomination fees for all categories of the election.

For the 2019 general elections, the party charged N12 million for each presidential aspirant (N2 million for Expression of Interest and N10 million for nomination form).

It charged N6 million for the governorship (N1 million for Expression of Interest and N5 million for Nomination form).

It was N4 million for Senate (N500,000 for Expression of Interest and N3.5 million for Nomination form).

It was N1.5 million for Representatives (N500,000 for Expression of Interest and N1 million for Nomination form).

For the House of Assembly, it was N600,000 (N100,000 for Expression of Interest and N500,000 for Nomination form).

In a letter by the NRSC dated March 25, 2021, by Saraki and addressed to the National Chairman of the PDP, Prince Uche Secondus, the committee also prescribed age limits for persons to be elected as Youth Leader at the ward, local, state, and national levels.

The Saraki committee had pegged the age limit for anyone wishing to contest as a youth leader to a maximum of 35 years and advised the National Working Committee, NWC, to immediately pass the recommendation to the National Executive Committee, NEC.