An aggrieved challenger for the House of Representatives, Fagge federal constituency, Kano, Hon Osita Nwankwo, on Monday demanded a refund of his N500,000 nomination fee paid to the Labor Party leadership to contest the primary, as it was I had assigned the space. to another applicant.
According to him, this followed the refusal of the Labor Party leadership to offer him the candidacy to represent the constituency of Fagge, Kano in the National Assembly, due to his failure to pay the N5 million, requested by the LP leadership to the ticket.
“I paid the said amount to the Labor Party Account, number: 1021575052, with UBA and 20634382, with the same UBA on July 6, 2022, representing N400,000 for the nomination fee paid directly to the party account and N100,000 as a resignation, as I was not a party member prior to the nomination. I paid N100,000 in the account of the legal adviser, with the same UBA, which brought the total sum to N500,000, with documentary evidence of payment”.
According to him, he was asked to pay what he could afford for the ticket, adding that he voluntarily paid the sum of N500,000, which the party refused, insisting on payment of N3 million for the ticket and N5 million for the resignation.
After his inability to pay said N3 million and N5 million respectively, the party leadership later offered entry to one Shuaibu Abubakar, who fulfilled their conditions.
To this end, Nwankwo said, “I have officially written to the LP leadership, requesting the refund of my N500,000 as the ticket was offered to Abubakar, who complied with his condition.
“Six months after making the request for a refund to the party leadership, there has been no response, which is why I use this medium to seek the return of my money, since it is evident that the party is not willing to refund me, despite to offer the ticket to another applicant upon payment of said amount.”
Similarly, the aggrieved aspirant confirmed that the state chapter of the party had refunded the N90,000 he previously paid, as an expression of interest fee, noting that what is now pending is the LP leadership’s refusal to refund his N500,000, to reflect the transparency and sincerity of the party.
“Therefore, I am seeking urgent repayment of my N500,000 to demonstrate the party’s transparency, responsibility and sincerity in managing its affairs,” he said.
Numerous efforts to contact Kano Labor Party Chairman Mohammed Raji about his reaction failed as he did not respond to our reporter’s calls or WhatsApp messages forwarded to him at the time of filing this report.