President Bola Tinubu has purchased the All Progressives Congress (APC) Expression of Interest and Nomination forms to contest the 2027 presidential election.
The N100 million forms were purchased on the president’s behalf on Tuesday by the lawmaker representing Ikeja Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, James Faleke.
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The APC National Organising Secretary, Suleiman Argungu, presented the documents to Mr Faleke at the party’s national secretariat in Abuja.
Mr Tinubu is running for a second term amidst mounting opposition, a biting economy and worsening insecurity. He assumed office in May 2023.
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Major opposition parties have announced plans to form a coalition to support one presidential candidate to challenge Mr Tinubu.
The ruling party had, in a statement on 20 April, fixed the costs of its expression of interest and nomination forms for next year’s polls.
According to the statement, aspirants for state houses of assembly will pay N1,000,000 for the expression of interest form and N5,000,000 for the nomination form. Those contesting seats in the House of Representatives are to pay N1,000,000 and N9,000,000, respectively.
Senatorial aspirants will pay N3,000,000 for the expression of interest and N17,000,000 for the nomination forms. Governorship aspirants are required to pay N10,000,000 for the expression of interest and N40,000,000 for the nomination forms.
Presidential aspirants will pay N30,000,000 for the expression of interest and N70,000,000 for the nomination forms.
APC had fixed the same amount for the presidential nomination forms in 2022 ahead of the 2023 general elections.
The nomination forms cost nearly twice Mr Tinubu’s total legitimate salary as president over four years, and more than 1,000 times Nigeria’s N77,000 monthly minimum wage.
The Nigerian president earns a total salary package of N1.17 million monthly, including a basic salary of N292,892, a hardship allowance of N146,446, and a consistency allowance of N732,230, according to the Revenue Mobilisation Allocation and Fiscal Commission, the body that regulates public officials’ pay.
Meanwhile, Mr Tinubu had donated all the salaries he earned in almost three years to a dedicated welfare fund for wounded soldiers and families of fallen military personnel.
During his 74th birthday in March, Mr Tinubu asked the Accountant-General of the Federation to establish a special account for the initiative.
“What I need to do on your behalf is to announce a special account to be created today from all the salaries that I’ve earned,” the president said. “The Accountant General should establish an account to fund those men and women who stand in harm’s way, who have lost husbands and wives.”
Sole candidate
Although the ruling party said the forms are available to all aspirants, President Tinubu may be the only one to pick the expression of interest and nomination forms to run for president.
In May last year, the ruling party adopted him as its sole presidential candidate for the 2027 election.
It’s unlike 2022, when many aspirants jostled to succeed departing former President Muhammadu Buhari, who was completing his second term in office the following year.
READ ALSO: 2027: GAC endorses Hamzat as APC’s Lagos governorship candidate
The aspirants at the time, apart from Mr Tinubu, were then Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, the then Minister of Transportation, Rotimi Amaechi and the then Minister of Labour and Productivity, Chris Ngige.
Others were ex-Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State; his counterpart in Ebonyi, Dave Umahi; former Imo State Governor, Rochas Okorocha; former Senate President, Ken Nnamani; current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio; former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole, and others.
Some of them later stepped down for Mr Tinubu even after paying N100 million each for the forms.
The ruling party had fixed 15 and 26 May 2026 for its presidential primary election, but shifted it to 23 May.
