Prince Egbe Omorodion, one of the governorship Edo Polls: LP Aspirant Appeal For Downward Review Of N30m Nomination Form Fee of the Labour Party in the Edo State governorship election, has called on the leadership of the party to reconsider the N30 million fee for Expression of interest and Nomination Forms.
A downward review of the amount, he said, would enable many of the aspirants take part in the next month primaries.
He said they were not compelling the party to bring down the price of the form, but they were appealing to the party leadership so that people with good intentions were not excluded from the process due to the price of the form.
Omorodion, a UK-based financial analyst who spoke to Journalists on Sunday in Benin, disclosed that the LP governorship aspirants had consequently convened a meeting for Monday, Jan. 22 to take a stand on the matter.
The LP had on Jan.16, announced a N30- million fee for nomination and expression of interest forms for aspirants vying for the governorship position in the Sept.21 election in Edo.
The Julius Abure-led National Working Committee (NWC) announced this during its meeting in Abuja last Tuesday.
The NWC further said the commencement of the sale and submission of expression of Interest and the nomination forms would be between Jan. 25 and Feb 11, respectively.
It, however. exempted female aspirants from paying for the expression of Interest form.
The national leadership of the party also said it would adopt the Indirect primary election on Feb.22, to choose its party flag bearer.
But Omorodion, while appealing to the national leadership of the party for a reduction of the fee, described the fee as outrageous and the party’s position as extortionist.
According to him, I, as an aspirant, is saying that this amount is outrageously ridiculous and I see the move as a strategy to stifle the voices of those who joined LP with genuine desire to serve Edo people.
“If the party leadership reduced the fee to N15 million for the Imo election, why can’t it do same for Edo election?” he asked.
Omorodion, who said he was not condemning the leadership of the party on its pronouncement about the fee, however, noted that ” my appeal is that i don’t think my voice and those of others who believe in my project should be muted by this huge amount.
” A good number of aspirants and supporters may become disgruntled and may just take a walk if the party leadership refuses to budge. “
Omorodion, who is the LP party chairman, UK chapter, said his voice and voices of his numerous supporters might become stifled should the party leadership refused to recide its decision.
He described himself as eminently qualified to take Edo out of its present economic quagmire, adding “Edo people will be denied the opportunity of my dream and desires to take the state to the next level.
“We represent real change and if we are shut out, the people we represent will not have a voice and sale of form should not be used a a tool to generate funds for the party as people might become disgruntled if they feel exempted by the cost of the form.
He also denied that the party had not lost steam after Peter Obi lost the presidential election, saying that, “we have not had the candidate to shake the base.”
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