A house of assembly aspirant under the platform of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Joseph Kogi has lampooned the All Progressives Congress (APC) for putting democracy for sale.
The SDP chieftain said the N55 million fixed by the APC for its presidential nomination form is a mockery of democracy.
The politician who spoke to The Next Edition, Friday, after a meeting of SDP aspirants in Makurdi insisted that democracy should not be put on sale.
He argued that the process of getting political power be made open and affordable to all who genuinely desire it.
Mr. Kogi was reacting to the proposal by the APC’s National Executive Council (NEC) that the presidential forms be sold for N55 million and governorship at N22 million.
Apart from being a mockery of democracy, he said it is capable of heightening corruption.
“I think democracy should not be for sale. Most times, people who bought political power take advantage of the position they have to syphon public funds, which would have been used for development,” he began.
“If the ruling party is pegging presidential form at 55 million, it simply tells you that a lot of persons somewhere have been able to have access to public funds and have cornered the funds for themselves.”
He insisted that the process of getting political power should be democratised so persons who have genuine intentions of contributing to the development of society would get elected.
While acknowledging that money is one of the elements of power, he, however, said the welfare of the people which is another element of power should be prioritised.
Continuing, he said, “I think less emphasis should be placed on the monetary aspect of it while more consideration should be placed on other elements of power.
READ ALSO: 2019: Saraki picks presidential nomination form
“This can be done by giving the electorates more information so they can decide who leads them and also ensuring that the people with the right set of mind are elected into positions where they can initiate policies and programmes for the benefit of the people
Asked if the high cost of nomination form could breed corruption, Mr. Kogi replied, “Of course. Where do you get that kind of money from?
“With real earning, it would be impossible to get such an amount of money in addition to the funds needed for campaigns across the states of the federation.
“Certainly, somebody is getting money illegally from somewhere and by the time he gets into government, he will figure out certain ways to recoup his investment and that will affect development and good governance.
“Coming from the developmental sector, one of my main interests is to bring so much of my time to ensure good governance where the money for the people and projects will be used for the people and those projects.
Mr. Kogi said the SDP in Benue is set for successful, free and fair primaries just as he commended the state Chairman of the party, John Enemari, for meeting and updating all aspirants on the platform with the required information.
