The Taraba State chapter of the All Progressives Congress (APC) has threatened legal action against the Taraba State Independent Electoral Commission (TSIEC), accusing the commission of imposing unconstitutional and excessively high nomination fees ahead of the forthcoming local government elections.
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Speaking at a press conference in Jalingo, Taraba, the APC State Chairman, Ibrahim Tukur El-Sudi, condemned TSIEC’s fee structure, alleging that it was intentionally crafted to marginalize opposition parties and hinder broad participation in the electoral process.
According to the commission’s published guidelines, aspirants for the position of chairman are required to pay a non-refundable fee of ₦1 million, while vice chairmanship aspirants must pay ₦500,000.
While female chairmanship and vice chairmanship candidates are to pay N250,000, for councillorship seats, male candidates are to pay N150,000 and female candidates N75,000.
El-Sudi condemned the charges, labeling them unconstitutional and a violation of democratic principles.
“The constitution does not mandate any fees to be paid to INEC, and by extension, state electoral commissions have no legal grounds to impose such charges. This is a ploy to frustrate political parties, especially in a time of economic hardship,” he said.
He called on TSIEC to immediately withdraw the fees from its election guidelines, insisting that the financial demands place undue burdens on aspirants and hinder inclusive democratic participation.
The APC chairman also criticized the Taraba State Board of Internal Revenue for imposing what he described as “outrageous” tax clearance fees of N1 million for chairmanship aspirants and N500,000 for those contesting councillorship positions.
“These figures are not only excessive but unreasonable,” he said, calling for an urgent downward review to ensure fairness.
Despite these grievances, El-Sudi announced that the APC had successfully conducted its primaries across all the sixteen councils of the state and is fully prepared to contest the elections scheduled for November.
He reaffirmed the party’s commitment to ensuring credible, free, and fair local government elections, while warning that failure by the electoral body to address these concerns could lead to legal consequences.
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