A GROUP, Project Nigeria, has reportedly raised over N100 million to purchase the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential election expression of interest and nomination forms for Minister of State for Education Chukwuemeka Nwajiuba.
Nwajiuba, who disclosed this in an interview with journalists, said the group informed him that about 1,000 individuals contributed over N100 million to obtain the APC presidential form on his behalf.
The group collected the forms for the minister on Wednesday at the party’s headquarters in Abuja.
The APC expression of interest form for the presidential election costs N30 million, while the nomination form is N7O million, making a total of N100 million.
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Nwajiuba, who expressed excitement that the group was able to raise the amount, said the outcome of his meeting with the Project Nigeria Group and other stakeholders across the country will determine whether he would contest the presidential election.
“In my own case, I have the unique opportunity of being promoted by a wide range of Nigerians, young people and others from all parts of Nigeria, who are contributing their funds as well as their time to drive this project.
“They have taken the challenge of thinking of where to get the money and relieve the burden from me.
“One of them told me that they have actually exceeded the figure by some fractions at the moment.
“They have over 1,000 contributors from different places. I was only informed that they were ready.
“I have been trying to get them to meet with me, but they only want to meet me when they have the forms.
“I thought it was a joke until I saw that such a huge number of people contributed,” the minister said.
Explaining that he will meet the group to decide on the way forward, Nwajiuba added, “When I have the opportunity of meeting the group, then we can speak on it. It is not something one person alone can decide; it will require almost like a collegiate of people to bring everybody together to work in a direction so that the country can get traction on the road to progress.”
Abubakar Usman, a special assistant on new media to Senate President Ahmad Lawan, also announced the development in a post on his Twitter account @MrAbuSidiq.
The Minister of State for Education, Hon. Chukwuemeka Nwajuiba becomes the first person to pick the APC Expression of Interest and Nomination Forms for the APC Presidential Primary as a group of Nigerians raised over N100m from where they purchased the forms for him. pic.twitter.com/C2ePVrNM0T
— Abubakar Sidiq Usman (@MrAbuSidiq) April 27, 2022
Usman said the minister was the first to get the APC’s presidential forms.
The Project Nigeria Platform is a group of thousands of Nigerians drawn across ethnic, gender, and age divides, according to Nwajiuba.
Another presidential aspirant on the platform of the APC Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello had announced that he has also paid the sum of N100 million to purchase the forms to contest the 2023 presidential election.
A statement signed by Director, Media and Publicity Yahaya Bello Presidential Campaign Organisation, Yemi Kolapo, said the governor paid for the expression of interest and nomination forms on Tuesday
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