2023 Guber Race: You’ll Steal After Buying Form N21m — PDP Aspirant

• Says amount is Gov’s 10 months pay
• Claims any rich govt worker is a ‘thief’

BY EDMOND ODOK – Coughing out a whopping N21 million to purchase the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)’s Expression of Interest (EoI) form for the 2023 governorship election will wire and position aspirants to steal public funds when elected.

This is the submission of a gubernatorial aspirant in Katsina State, Engr Muttaqha Rabe Darma, who has condemned the Party’s outrageous monetary demands on all gubernatorial aspirants across the country.

He described the PDP’s financial requirements as invariably priming aspirants for corruption when they eventually sail through elections to occupy the State Chief Executive’s office.

Also, Muttaqha, a former Executive Secretary of the Petroleum Technology Development Fund (PTDF), said it is utterly shocking that party members have refused to openly criticize the decision and protest against it.

Fielding questions from journalists after unveiling his book titled “Pathways to Greatness: The Katsina State of Future”, the PDP Chieftain said; “How can you ask aspirants to pay N21 million just to contest for governorship. N21 million is 10 months salary of a Governor. Even if it is one month’s salary, that money is still too much and I cannot afford to pay such an amount to contest to be Governor in my state.

“What are they trying to tell the contestants? They are teaching them to steal when they come into the office.

“This is corruption playing out but people are just folding their hands and not saying anything. If we fail to protest now next time it might rise up to N100 million.”

The Governorship aspirant described the PDP’s decision as a slap on the faces of Nigerians, saying; “What this means is that whoever is qualified and interested in contesting for governorship under the PDP must have a Godfather that will be able to give him that money. And if you eventually win and become Governor, you will become a slave to the Godfather who will do whatever he likes with you.

“However, if you manage to pay the money and you lose in the election, you will become impoverished. This is not supposed to be.”

While decrying how the cost of purchasing the EoI form suddenly rose to N21 million despite the difficult times in the country, Muttaqha noted that: “The governorship form was sold for N6 million in 2019 and now they are adding N14 million instead of reducing it knowing that the problems the country is facing now are worse than what the country experienced in 2019.

For him, only government workers or politicians who are thieves or involved in shady deals will be able to afford N21 million to purchase the governorship form without any stress.

According to him; “About 92 to 95% of those who have bought the form are all politically exposed people. I have the list. They are people who have occupied one political office or the other previously. I don’t think these people made their money legitimately.

“I worked in several government parastatals before and I also held political offices. So, I can confidently tell you that any government worker that has become rich I swear to you is a thief. It either he stole or short-changed the people or combined both. You don’t become rich working for the government. If you want to be rich go and do business. People need to know this.”

Despite the scathing public outburst against the nation’s main opposition party, the former PTDF boss was silent on his next political move going forward.

However, close associates of the Muttaqha hinted that he may soon quit the PDP to pursue his ambition of governing Katsina state on the platform of the rejuvenated New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP).

The new-look NNPP recently anointed the former Governor of Kano State, Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso as its national leader ahead of the 2023 general elections.