Exclusive: ACN threatens to sanction Senators, Reps over non-payment of party dues

Party wants its lawmakers to fulfill their financial obligations.

All senators and members of the House of Representatives elected on the platform of the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, have been given up till April 30 to pay up their dues to the party or risk sanctions.

A two-paragraphed letter from the National Secretariat of the party in Abuja to all the lawmakers, lamented the inability of almost all of them to comply with the payment of their annual dues for 2012 and early this year.

The letter, which was seen by PREMIUM TIMES, was signed by the Administrative Secretary of the party, on the directive of its National Chairman, Bisi Akande.

While each senator elected on the party’s platform pays N100,000.00 monthly, each of their counterparts in the lower legislative chamber pays N70,000,00.

However, most of the lawmakers are yet to update their financial obligations to the opposition party. The nature of sanctions that would be meted out to the defaulting legislators was not spelt out in the letter, dated March 19, 2013.

A source close to one of the lawmakers said that the directive was given in anticipation that ACN might wind down its operations as a party next month, if the All Progressives Congress, APC, is eventually registered.

The party, alongside the Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, All Nigeria Peoples Party, ANPP, and a faction of the All Progressive Grand Alliance, APGA, announced the plan to merge into APC on February 6, this year.

Following the amendments to the 1999 Constitution and the 2006 Electoral Act in 2011, political parties now source funds privately for their operations. The sources of funding now include membership dues, subscription from members, private contributors, especially from elected officers and fund raising dinners.

Until the amendments, the Federal Government disbursed annual grants to each political party through the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC.