Abuja – The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) announced that aspirants seeking its presidential ticket will pay a total of N60 million in fees. In a statement released by National Chairman Sen. Moses Cleopas and Secretary Ikenna Enekweizu, the party detailed the cost structure for all levels of candidacy and outlined the timetable for form sales, screening and primary elections.
Presidential hopefuls are required to submit an Expression of Interest (EOI) form worth N20 million and a Nomination form costing N40 million. Governorship aspirants will pay N10 million for the EOI and N20 million for the Nomination form. For the National Assembly, Senate candidates must remit N3 million for the EOI and N5 million for the Nomination form, while House of Representatives contenders will pay N2 million and N4 million respectively. State House of Assembly aspirants are slated to pay N1 million for the EOI and N1.5 million for the Nomination form.
The NDC said it will grant concessions to female aspirants, who will receive a 50 percent discount, and to persons living with disabilities (PWDs), who will be charged at 25 percent of the standard rates across all categories.
The party’s schedule stipulates that EOI forms will be available from 13 May to 18 May. Screening and interview of aspirants will run from 19 May to 21 May, after which Nomination forms will be sold from 21 May to 23 May, with a submission deadline of 25 May. Appeals arising from the screening process will be heard on 25 May and 26 May. Primary elections for the various elective positions are set for 27 May and 28 May, and the presidential primary is slated for 29 May in Abuja.
Screening for State House of Assembly candidates will be conducted in their respective states, while National Assembly and presidential aspirants will be screened at the NDC headquarters in Abuja. Governorship primaries will be organised at the local government level. All participants must sign undertakings that align with the party’s guidelines and code of conduct.
To safeguard the integrity of the process, the NDC will employ an “open secret ballot” system for its primaries, a method designed to promote credibility, fairness and internal democracy. The party reiterated its commitment to transparent and credible primaries that will produce competent candidates for the forthcoming general elections.
