2023: Political aspirants disposing properties under pressure to raise funds in Niger – Findings

Ahead of 2023, general election, some immediate past political office holders in Niger State, have started disposing off their properties to contest the forth coming general election, CAPITAL POST finding has revealed.

Among those properties already in the market for sales include their landed properties such as some shopping plazas, some hectres of lands, Hotels Lodges, Filling stations, private schools and their vehicles as well as some commercial complexes.

Property agents in Niger State are currently making brisk businesses as some interested buyers are showing interests.

Findings further revealed that some of these properties were aquired through ill-gotten wealth, while in the office as from 2015 to date.

It was reliably gathered that most of these properties were spread in places like Kaduna and Abuja, the federal capital.

However, some properties that have EFCC mark or that have ‘caveat emptor’ pasted which are subject of litigation are carefully avoided.

Our correspondent equally gathered that these political office holders have decided to dispose their properties to raise money to fund their elections in the 2023 general election, even as they have started pasting their campaign posters in every nook and crannies of the state capital and their respective constituencies.

It was further gathered these public and political office holders recently resigned their appointment in accordance with the directive by the electoral act as amended by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) directing all political office holders wishing to contest any position at the 2023 election to resign.

Already, some of them have indicated interest to contest State House of Assembly and House of Representatives election in the 2023.

Prominent among them are two Commissioners from eastern and northern Senatorial districts of the state who were among the early persons that tabled their resignation letters to the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), Alhaji Ahmed Ibrahim Matane in late March.

According to our source who pleaded anonymity,. “these people have not visited their community since they were appointed into office in the last seven years, only for them to come to inform us that they want to contest for House of Assembly and Hhouse of Representativea in 2023 elections and they want us to support them because we are fool.

“We are waiting for them to bring out their money.

“They think they will make fool of us this time again. We are wiser than them. Let them sell their properties after all they got them through ill-gotten wealth and we are ready and waiting to take our share of the loots”

Efforts by CAPITAL POST correspondent to speak to them could not yield the needed result as several calls to their phones has not been responded.

However, a Minna based social critics, Alhaji Ahmed Jibril Ahmed posited that they got the wealth through fraudulent means and it will not be out of place for them to dispose them off as a result of the circumstances in which they aquired the properties while in office.

“I’m not surprised. They got the properties in question through dubious means if they now decided to sell them, there is nothing new about that because the money they use in getting those properties were not genuinely gotten.

“So for them to resort in selling those ill-gotten properties is not new to me at all. I know for sure that day will surely come and is already happening now.” he told CAPITAL POST in an interview in Minna.