At least 10 presidential aspirants have purchased nomination and expression of interest forms to contest for the presidency on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in 2023.
The affected aspirants include a former vice president, Atiku Abubakar; a former senate president, Bukola Saraki; an ex- Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Senator Anyim Pius Anyim; Bauchi State Governor, Bala Mohammed; and Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike.
Others are Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Waziri Tambuwal; a former governor of Enugu State, Peter Obi; ace journalist and publisher, Dele Momodu; Dr Nwachukwu Anakwenze, and Diana Oliver Tariela.
Going by the sum of N40 million and N5 million pegged as the amounts for its male and female presidential aspirants respevtively, the party has so far generated N365 million from the sales of its nomination and expression of interest forms.
Groups ‘buying’ forms for aspirants
There seems to be a twist in the race for the party’s ticket ahead of the party’s presidential primary as youths and professional groups “tasked” themselves to “purchase” forms for the leading aspirants.
At the last count, seven leading and rich aspirants on the platform of the PDP “benefited” from such gesture. They are Atiku, Saraki, Obi, Ayim, Tambuwal, Mohammed and Wike.
About N285 million was spent by the groups for the nomination and expression of interest forms of the aspirants.
On March 18, the North East Business Community obtained the PDP’s forms for Atiku and made a presentation to him at his Asokoro, Abuja, residence.
The chairman of the busness community, Abubakar Funakeye, said the gesture was in fulfilment of their promise to purchase forms for the former vice president as an expression of their support for his presidential bid.
He said members of the group had in November 2021, called on him to contest the 2023 presidential election and promised that they would purchase the forms for him.
In the same vain, a group known as Young Professionals extended the same gesture to Saraki on March 21, to compete for the party’s presidential ticket.
The group, led by Abubakar Danmusa, believes Saraki is the right person to steer the country out of its current challenges.
Like Saraki and Atiku, Friends of Aminu Tambuwal obtained forms for the Sokoto State governor; Coalition for Greater Nigeria 2023 did it for Ayim, while Bala Mohammed got his from a consortium of young Nigerians under the auspices of GBAM.
Others are the Northern Progressives Elements and Friends of Wike and Like Minds for Peter Obi.
Groups have no addresses
Findings revealed that most of the groups did not have records until recently when they appeared in the media linked with high profile politicians.
The North East Business Community, from available records, emerged in July, 2021, solely to work towards the realisation of Atiku’s presidential aspiration. It was tagged, “North Business Community for Atiku Abubakar 2023”, with Alhaji Jibrin Dangusau, the Dallatun Funakaye, as its chairman. The news of its emergence appeared on Atiku’s GOTEL Television in 2021. The group has Dr Ali Bappayo Adamu of Dawakin Gomne as its director general.
Unlike Atiku’s business community, the Young Professionals linked to Saraki is a new creation with no defined contact address. A search for the group on popular apps turned out no information of its existence.
The only popular platform which shared same name with the group, The Young Professional Forum, was founded by Pastor William Kumuyi as a youth empowerment initiative. It is domiciled at the headquarters of the Deeper Life International Bible Church, Gbagada, Lagos. There’s no reference to Saraki in all its activities and platforms.
In the same vain, there is also no record of the Northern Progressives Elements which was said to have purchased forms for Wike. The only organisation which shares similar name with the group is a political party, defunct Northern Elements Progressives Union (NEPU), founded in 1950. However, the group’s leader is a notable politician and a former senator from Bauchi State, Suleiman Mohammed Nazif.
Like Saraki, Friends of Aminu Tambuwal, GBAM and Like Minds for Peter Obi, are just groups which emerged out of the blues into the public consciousness as the election year draws closer.
Ayim’s Coalition for Greater Nigeria 2023 started as a movement for the actualisation of an Igbo presidency using Ebonyi as support base in 2020. Its initial name was United for Better Nigeria initiative (UBNi) and led by one Mrs Nkoli Mkparu Okeke from Ebonyi, the home country of the former senate president and SGF. Ms Okeke has been quite visible around Ayim since then.
Another deceptive strategy
The buying of forms move has elicited condemnation from former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Civil Society Organisations and analysts. Speaking on the development recently, Obasanjo accused the aspirants for hiding behind faceless youths to peddle falsehood.
He said, “Today, they are paying N40 million. Some of them (aspirants) even said it is some youths who bought it for them. In fact, anybody who would come out to tell you such a lie, you shouldn’t vote for him. Which youths gathered N40 million? If you want to buy it, buy it and tell us. You don’t need to lie to us.”
Also, Prof Yusufu Ali Zoaka of the Department of Political Science, University of Abuja, said the current money bag politicians were only trying to deceive their poor supporters by such tactics.
Zoaka said, “Nigerian politicians always want to appeal to the Nigerian supporters by feigning poverty. They operate in a deceptive manner; always trying to hoodwink the ordinary people. This is why when elections are around the corner, you will find them eating roasted corn, taking tea with sachet milk and Lipton, eating in mama put, etc, all to show that they identify with the poor.”
However, Dr Yunisa Tanko, Chairman of the National Conscience Party (NCP), said such development gives room for participation of youths and professionals in active politics.
“But are these youths and professional groups said to have obtained forms for certain persons real? If they exist, do they do so as proxies to the aspirants? Those are the pertinent questions we need to raise,” he said.
Not a totally new initiative
Other observers said this was not the first time groups came together to raise funds for such purpose.
Tambuwal benefited from the gesture in 2014, when his associates bought forms for his presidential bid ahead of the 2015 presidential election. So did Atiku in 2018 and President Muhammadu Buhari the same year.
