The Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP) has questioned the funding of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) N14.8 billion budget for the 2018 calendar year ahead of 2019 elections.
National Treasure of APC, Bala Gwagwarwa had in a memo published in reports in some newspapers over the weekend said the N14.8bn will be realized by the ruling party from nomination fees (N5.86bn), fundraising (N3.45 bn), membership dues (N4.2 bn), sales of party cards (N1.0 bn), and levies on Elected/Appointed Office holders (N 0.304bn).
But ANRP, through its spokesperson, Sesugh Akume in a statement of Saturday said the funding of this budget would have negative effect on Nigerians.
He noted that APC’s plan to generate N2.4 billion from the 24 states being controlled by the party and N1.05 billion from members of the party in non-APC states is a demonstration of the party’s insensitivity to abject poverty existing in the country with millions of jobs being lost every quarter.
“Under the APC government Nigeria has this 2018 become the country with the highest number of people living in abysmal poverty, and also the highest percentage of the population living in such dire poverty.
Yet, APC feel no sense of responsibility and have chosen to continue in their ways of lavish spending. Nigerians now know better on how to decide,” ANRP stated in the statement.
The party also criticized APC’s plan to buy 20 vehicles for N500 million, an action it described as promotion of culture of wastage.
It advised the ruling party to put more effort in cutting the cost of running the party rather than spending stupendous amount on irrelevant things.
“Clearly, APC are living in denial, and blind to the harsh economic realities facing Nigerians, and therefore think it appropriate to rub it in the face of long-suffering Nigerians; displaying affluence and living large, spending so much on vehicles for their officers instead of cutting costs.”
ANRP warned APC against engaging in financing campaign of its members for the 2019 elections as it maintained it would ensure the electoral commission plays its role of ensuring that all political parties comply with campaign finance limit.
