Youths from Kogi State, led by Usman Ododo, the state governor, on Monday presented N100 million to the national leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Abuja, for the purchase of expression of interest and nomination forms for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Although Tinubu has not formally declared his intention to seek re-election, party leaders have repeatedly expressed confidence that he will secure another term.
Confirming receipt of the funds, Nentave Yilwatda, APC National Chairman told newsmen that the donation reflected growing support for the president within the party, adding that another group had also indicated plans to purchase the forms.
He explained that the Kogi youths cited improvements in the economy, security interventions and youth inclusion in governance among others as reasons for their action.
Yilwatda stressed that the APC leadership was working to make the party more accessible, noting that fees for recent internal contests had been reduced in many cases to encourage wider participation, particularly among young aspirants and women.
The chairman said the youths’ action demonstrated a shift in political engagement, with supporters now asking what they could do to sustain reforms rather than what government could offer them.
Speaking on behalf of the delegation, Governor Ododo assured that the group was prepared to mobilise additional funds if the party eventually reviews the cost of nomination forms upward.
A youth leader in the delegation also disclosed that further donations exceeding N100 million had already been pledged, signalling continued backing for the president’s potential second-term bid.
BusinessDay reports that in 2022, the APC raked in billions of Naira from the sale of expression of interest and nomination forms to various categories of aspirants seeking its ticket to run for the 2023 general elections.
The ruling party had pegged its presidential forms at N100million; governorship, N50million; senatorial, N20 million and N10million for House of Representatives aspirants. ,
Sulaiman Argungu, the APC National Organising Secretary, had told newsmen in Abuja that 145 aspirants bought governorship forms, 351 obtained forms to contest senatorial primaries, 1,197 picked forms for the House of Representatives, while 28 presidential aspirants also obtained forms for the 2023 polls.
Responding to a question yesterday on whether the prices of the forms would be reviewed, Yilwatda said, “If you check the congresses that we conducted, we just finished. We reduced the cost of our forms by almost 50%. We reduced the cost across board.”
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