The Student Union Government (SUG) of the University of Abuja has condemned the Ebonyi State APC’s decision to peg the forms for local government chairmanship election at N25 million, calling it outrageous.
The Speaker of University’s SUG assembly said this in a press conference on Friday.
According to him, this development has dampened the morale and erased the optimism that trailed the enactment of the Not-Too-Young-To-Run (NTYTR) Act, noting that it was the same APC that championed the bill into law.
“This is basically a deliberate move to disenfranchise the majority of the interested candidates in favour of the incumbents and the ‘anointed’.
“This move is clearly insensitive and definitely not in the interest of the ordinary Ebonyians with inalienable rights to seek and contest the elective positions,” he said.
Recall that the APC form in the recently conducted Ekiti & Osun State Gubernatorial Election was valued at N22.5m with youths between ages 25 to 40 granted a 50 percent discount.
However, the UniAbuja SUG through its speaker emphasized that the move will apparently encourage corruption and cause more harm to the society.
“I humbly urge the National Chairman of APC to intervene by calling on the APC chairman of the state, Chief. Stanley Okoro Emegha, to review the price of the forthcoming local government area election.
“The party should be for the have and have not; and not for the plutocrats alone. How do youths participate, when they can not purchase the form, due to the price hike.
“This move is definitely not in the interest of the ordinary Ebonyians with inalienable rights to seek and contest for the elective positions.” He said.
He further called on the State Government to prioritize the interests of the youths across the region.
saharandaily