Recently President Muhammadu Buhari received the N45 million nomination form purchased by a sham group towards his re-election campaign. Such a move contravenes S. 91(9) of the Electoral Act, which states that “No individual or other entity shall donate more than one million naira (N1,000,000) to any candidate.”
Patriotic Nigerians from both sides of the political spectrum have also criticized the president, asking him to reject the pyrrhic contribution.
But the Buhari’s team has responded. According to Festus Keyamo, spokesman of President Muhammadu Buhari’s re-election campaign, “Some mischievous persons are reading S. 91(9) of the Electoral Act upside down. The section limits CASH (not material) donations in respect of CANDIDATES to N1m. PMB is not a CANDIDATE. He’s an aspiring ASPIRANT. He becomes an ASPIRANT only when he submits his Forms to his Party.”
Apart from the uncultured tone of his response, Kayamo’s appointment is a product of gross political immorality. Lest we forget, he has continued to serve in the board of a public organization, the Nigeria Deposit Insurance Commission (NDIC), while doubling as a spokesman for a partisan presidential campaign.
If the quote is correct Mr. Kayamo should be stripped of his SAN credentials for he is no lawyer at all. Is he saying that if I take PMB to APC office and wrote a check for N45 million for PMB's form which he accepts with thanks, that I have not given PMB any money?
In a nutshell, Festus Kayamo (SAN) is not only shambolic in approach, he is also ultimately wrong in his interpretation of the law under review. Please hear him again: “PMB is not a CANDIDATE. He’s an aspiring ASPIRANT. He becomes an ASPIRANT only when he submits his Forms to his Party.” "Aspiring ASPIRANT" Waoooo!!. The implication of such interpretation is that people who wish to stand for elections can, as well, go and pile up any amount of money, and also from any source, which they can deploy to influence potential primary election voters—before they qualify as “candidates.”
The objective fact is that President Buhari will be abating corruption if he eventually accepts the N45 million nomination form purchased by the sham group. To succeed in the war against corruption, we must be true to ourselves. The truth is that, in the mind of the framers, S91(9) of the Electoral Act refers to campaign contributions to any individual seeking political office—whether a political joker, hopeful, dreamer, aspirant, candidate or nominee, etc.
The simple answer is that President Muhammadu Buhari is setting a very unpatriotic precedent in his inordinate ambition for second term in office and ought to be stopped within our great party, the All Progressive Congress (APC).
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