APC broke, relying on presidency, govs for campaign funds

APC broke, relying on presidency, govs for campaign funds – NWC

A member of the National Working Committee (NWC) of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), Dayo Israel, has disclosed that the party is broke and is relying on the Presidency, governors and other elected officials to fund its activities ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Israel, the APC National Youth Leader, made the revelation on Wednesday in Abuja at the newly established Youth Resource Centre, designed to mobilise young and female voters for President Bola Tinubu’s re-election bid.

Daily Trust reports that the APC had in recent months generated significant revenue from the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms for various elections. In February, the party raised N350 million from governorship aspirants in Anambra State, with nomination forms priced at N40 million and expression of interest forms at N10 million.

Similarly, ahead of the 2026 FCT Area Councils elections, the party fixed its chairmanship forms at N20 million and councillorship forms at N2.5 million. For last year’s Edo governorship election, each aspirant paid N50 million, generating at least N600 million for the party.

In the 2023 off-season governorship elections in Kogi, Bayelsa and Imo states, the APC made over N1.3 billion from form sales. During the 2023 general elections, the party reportedly earned more than N29 billion from aspirants nationwide, with presidential forms pegged at N100 million, governorship at N50 million, senatorial at N20 million and House of Representatives at N10 million.

Despite these revenues, Israel said the party’s coffers were dry.

“Of course, it’s going to cost money,” he told reporters. “Here at the resource centre, we need to pool our resources.” We have to raise funds personally to even start what we’re doing here. We all know that the party doesn’t have money. We know that the party has to rely on the government, the administration, the president and our governors to support us. That is the reality.

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“The party doesn’t generate income apart from maybe during elections, and it has a lot of overhead and other expenses. So there is a lot for us to do. I can tell you that this year, the youth wing has not received one naira from our mother party in any form.

“But we are young people, creative and innovative. We have a duty to support the president, who has appointed many of us into positions. We have to show appreciation by working together to help him, because he cannot do everything alone. We hope that as we impact more lives, we will attract more support for the president and the party.”

When contacted, APC National Director of Publicity Bala Ibrahim described Israel’s remarks as an internal matter that should not be “overflogged”.

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Analysts fault reliance on public office holders

A political analyst, Aminu Yakudima, criticised the APC’s dependence on the Presidency, governors and other elected officers for funding, saying it contravened democratic principles.

Speaking to Daily Trust by telephone, Yakudima said parties should raise funds through membership registration, monthly dues, and the sale of branded items such as T-shirts, caps, stickers and other souvenirs.

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“Ideally, in a democracy, it is not proper for that to happen. But since the Second Republic, most ruling parties have relied on the presidency and state governments to fund their activities.

“It is not out of place to say the APC will do the same because that has been the tradition for a long time. But INEC is not doing its job. Its supervisory role includes monitoring the activities and sources of funding of political parties. That is not forthcoming,” he said.

Yakudima urged APC to diversify its funding base, noting that parties often operate shops at their headquarters and in state and local government offices to sell party-branded goods.

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Another political analyst, Jackson Lekan Ojo, described the development as “a high level of impunity and corruption.”

“In a normal clime, the youth leader should have been called for questioning because what he said is an indictment on the presidency and the governors.

“Parties usually fund themselves through members’ monthly dues and contributions from elected officials, which should be transparent. But what the APC has told us is that it relies on the presidency and governors to sponsor its activities.

“Are they sponsoring the party with their salaries and allowances? No. So corruption has become endemic. Being the ruling party, they feel they can do whatever they like. This is an abnormality of the highest order and a bad omen for democracy,” Ojo said.