NDC Gov’ship aspirants kick over alleged N5bn benchmark for screening

By Musa Baba Adamu

There is growing discontent among governorship aspirants of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC ) over an alleged requirement by the party’s screening committee demanding proof of at least N5 billion in personal bank accounts before aspirants can scale through screening.

The screening committee, headed by Sam Egwu, reportedly commenced its assignment earlier this week after inauguration on Monday.

While the committee successfully screened the party’s sole presidential aspirant, Peter Obi, on Tuesday, several governorship hopefuls said they were confronted with what they described as an excessive financial benchmark.

Some aspirants who spoke in Abuja on Wednesday faulted the alleged condition, describing it as undemocratic and inconsistent with the ideals of a newly formed opposition party seeking national acceptance.

One aspirant from the South-South region, who spoke anonymously, described the development as “high-handedness,” arguing that neither the Electoral Act nor the party’s constitution prescribed such a financial threshold for governorship contestants.

According to him, opposition parties should distinguish themselves from ruling parties by promoting inclusiveness and internal democracy rather than allowing financial strength to determine participation.

He maintained that while governorship aspirants are expected to possess the resources required for campaigns, demanding evidence of N5 billion in bank accounts was unrealistic and could discourage credible contenders from participating in the party’s processes.

“We joined the NDC because of the perceived injustice and arrogance in the APC. The NDC should be a home for everyone and should not reduce the contest to the highest bidder,” he said.

The aspirant further argued that even the ruling All Progressives Congress had never imposed such a stringent benchmark on governorship aspirants.

He urged the committee to focus more on electability, popularity and competence rather than financial capacity, especially as the party works to meet timelines set by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the elections.

“The screening is scheduled for Thursday and many of us are still trying to meet the requirements within the timeframe. The committee should reconsider this decision in the interest of fairness and party growth,” he added.

Efforts to get reactions from Sam Egwu were unsuccessful as calls and text messages sent to him were reportedly not answered as of press time.