The All Progressives Congress in Borno State has reduced the cost of nomination forms for women and physically challenged aspirants ahead of the December 13 local government elections.
The state chairman of the party, Alhaji Bello Ayuba, announced the adjustment on Friday during a news conference in Maiduguri.
Ayuba said the party fixed councillorship forms for women and physically challenged aspirants at N250,000 and chairmanship forms at N1 million, which represents a 50 per cent cut from the standard fees.
He said, “The standard fees remain N500,000 for councillorship and N2 million for chairmanship, but after consultations with stakeholders and other party leaders in states like Katsina and Lagos, we decided to reduce the fees to encourage inclusivity.”
According to him, the decision was made to give women and persons with disabilities an equal chance to participate in the political process.
He also assured that the party would conduct transparent primaries, giving every aspirant a fair opportunity to contest.
“Whosoever is willing to contest for chairmanship or councillorship, as long as they are members of the party, the door is open to all,” Ayuba said.
He noted that the sale of forms had been concluded, and screening of aspirants for the 27 local government chairmanship positions and 320 ward councillorship seats would begin soon.
“Even in cases where there is only one aspirant in a local government or ward, affirmation exercises will be conducted to ensure the aspirant’s acceptance by the party’s structure,” he added.
Ayuba explained that after the screening and affirmation process, the list of approved candidates would be forwarded to the Borno State Independent Electoral Commission to secure forms and prepare for the main polls.
He added that larger committees would also be set up across all local government areas to ensure transparency and compliance with party rules.
Ayuba urged party members to remain peaceful, saying the APC was committed to promoting democratic values and ensuring credible local government elections in the state.
