Amupitan Urged to Stop Parties from Charging Exorbitant Fees

Gbenga Sodeinde in Ado Ekiti

An Ado Ekiti-based Prophet, Pastor James Omitade, has advised the new Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), Prof Joash Amupitan, to stem the rate at which political parties slammed arbitrary charges on procurement of nomination forms for elective positions.

The prophet, who is the General Overseer of Holy Trinity Authority Prophetic Church International, said such merchandise tendency, had deprived Nigeria from producing committed leaders that can really bring the desirable changes to the already decayed system.

Prophet Omitade made the call during a chat with journalists in Ado Ekiti, yesterday while speaking on the state of the nation, especially its current electoral position.

The Cleric was miffed at how political parties have turned themselves into merchants, where interested aspirants would have to cough out a staggering sum of N100 million for presidential, N50 million for governorship and over N30 million to buy nominations for senatorial  contests.

He charged Amupitan to spearhead amendments to the Electoral Act that will prevent criminals from taking over the leadership positions, saying arbitrary charges have scared away people of integrity from the political space.

Prophet Omitade warned that corruption in the country will continue to spiral as long as the electoral system is riddled with manipulations and susceptible to full control by moneybags, who don’t wish Nigeria well. 

The man of God added that corruption has hit  a height in Nigeria, that the citizens no longer earn the respect of global community, saying this started from shoddy conduct of elections that produced people of shady characters as leaders. 

Regarding the impending Anambra governorship election, the fiery man of God, urged the new INEC boss to use the election to send a signal to Nigerians that his reign will usher in credibility to the electoral system, by conducting a poll that will be acceptable to Nigerians. 

“To the new INEC boss, what Nigerians need is a real and genuine electoral amendments. The one that will be  inclusive, where a public hearing that will aggregate the positions of all Nigerians will be conducted. 

“Our politicians must learn how to do things right and they must allow the new INEC helmsman to work. They should remember that those who held sway in 1979, 1983, 1999 and even 2007, have left the political space.  

“My major concern is that, INEC must look for ways to give chance to the poor people to be elected. How can a party be selling governorship  nomination forms as high  as N50m, presidential for N100 million? This is criminal.

“This is a cunning way of imposing the rich as party candidates. Whoever is not rich can no longer contest in Nigeria, even if they are loved and wanted by the people. That is why you have criminals controlling us.

“If INEC boss must get it right, he must look for ways to ensure that credible people like we had in the first and second republics, even up to 1999, find their ways to leadership positions.

 “In 1999, the late Ondo, Oyo and Osun State Governors: Chiefs Adebayo Adefarati, Lam Adesina and Bisi Akande respectively, were poor people. But they became governors and they did well. A system that seems to be stern produced good people. At every election, parties shift the post and the rich now control the system. 

“This odious  practices must stop and it must begin with Amupitan,” the cleric said.

In the same fashion, Prophet Omitade appealed to the new INEC boss to ensure full digitalisation of electioneering process to entrench the culture of electronic transfer of votes to the portal after voting during the 2027 general elections.

He said at this age and time, that physical collation must be removed from the electoral system, describing this as opportunity for moneybags and influential politicians to rig the weak candidates out of contest.

“From the units, voting must start and complete there. When you vote and such is transfered directly to the INEC portal, nobody will be able to bring out fictitious figures, because they are already collated.

“If truly Nigeria of our dream is to be realised without revolution, our electoral system must be totally reformed and sanitised  to allow poor Nigerians participate. But allowing only the rich to take absolute control will spell doom for all of us,” he warned.