The New Nigerian People’s Party (NNPP) has withdrawn from Saturday’s local government elections in Katsina State.
The NNPP Secretary in the state, Alhaji Tijjani Zakari-Kafinsoli, disclosed this to journalists on Tuesday in Katsina.
He said the amount set for purchasing of nomination forms by the state’s Independent Electoral Commission (KTSIEC) was too high and unaffordable for the party.
Zakari-Kafinsoli said: “The KTSIEC has fixed ₦3 million for chairmanship candidates and ₦1 million for councillorship candidates.
“We have 34 Local Government Areas (LGAs) and 361 wards in the state, meaning the total cost for forms would be about ₦463 million.
“As a party for the masses, we cannot afford such an amount. We wrote to KTSIEC in April 2024 to complain, but we have not received a response.”
He added that the Social Democratic Party (SDP) in the state had taken the electoral body to court over the same issue.
The KTSIEC Chairman, Alhaji Lawal Faskari, told journalists on Tuesday that only five political parties would participate in the election.
The parties are – Accord Party, Booth Party, African Action Congress (AAC), African Democratic Congress (ADC), and the All Progressives Congress (APC).
The Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and 11 other registered parties had earlier pulled out of the election.
According to Faskari, all arrangements have been finalised to ensure the peaceful conduct of the exercise.