A 102 year old 2023 presidential aspirant, Chief (Mrs) Josephine Ezeanyaeche has tasked the antigraft agencies to get hold of her colleagues buying presidential nomination forms for N100 million.
She said the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) should arrest and prosecute those buying the forms to explain the source of money in view of the outrageous charges by the ruling All Progressives of (APC).
The elderly woman insisted that antigraft agencies need not be told for them to know that no one could purchase nomination forms for N100 million without stealing of public funds.
She spoke while presenting her nomination form of the Africa Action Congress (AAC) to her supporters at Igboukwu in Aguata Local Government Area of Anambra State in the South East Nigeria on Saturday.
The presidential aspirant further suggested that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should peg charges for nomination forms by political parties to avoid this scenario in the future.
This, she argued would reduce corruption in future.
She revealed getting involved in presidential race because the current politicians have grounded the country, lamenting that as one of the founders of the nation, she couldn’t sit aloof seeing more damages done to the country, adding that her involvement in the race would usher in a disruptive change.
According to her, youths have refused to take up the challenge, even as her AAC has experience influx of political aspirants from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) as a result of outrageous charges of nomination forms.
The founder and Chairperson emeritus of the Voice of Senior Citizens of Nigeria, expressed faith that she would make impact during the party’s primaries slated for June 30.
She further reasoned that exorbitant price tag on nomination forms will drive away good politicians and pave way for criminally minded ones to have their way who would eventually get to political offices to steal.
She said, “I have come to tell my people that I have picked the nomination form of my party, AAC. Although, the party has been flooded by aspirants who ran away from the APC and PDP because of the huge price of their nomination forms.
“But despite this, I am very optimistic that I will make an appreciable impact because the 2023 general elections will bring disruptive change in this country. So, the youths must come out of hiding on social media and take their destinies from the politicians.
“I have never seen a thing like this all over the world that politicians will pay such amount on the nomination form. It shows they are a group of potential criminals with the intention to go and steal because the remuneration of the office they are paying such amount for cannot recoup the money back to them in the four years without them stealing”, she said.
