By Justina Auta

Mr Kingsley Chinda, Minority Leader, House of Representatives, says the expensive nature of Nigerian politics is restricting inclusive political participation.

Chinda said this at a public presentation and stakeholder engagement on the “Cost of Politics and Political Inclusion Report” organised by the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) in Abuja.

The study was commissioned by WFD through its Nigeria Open Political Parties (NOPP) Project, with support from the European Union and Foreign Commonwealth Development Office (FCDO).

The study aimed to investigate the financial requirements of seeking and holding political office in Nigeria and its implications for democratic governance, political inclusion, and accountability.

Chinda said that access to vast financial resources, either through personal wealth or fundraising networks, had become the near precondition for political viability.

According to him, recent rising financial demands of political participation have turned what should be a civic right into an expensive commercial venture.

“The cost of securing a party ticket, funding campaigns, mobilising votes, defending electoral victories and sustaining political office has turned Nigerian politics into an elite preserve.

“It is now a gated community into which only the wealthy and the well-connected can enter,” he said.

Chinda cited the 2023 general elections, with only 8.4 per cent women candidates, minimal youth and Persons with Disabilities representation, despite the energy and demographic weight they carry.

“Politics in Nigeria has been thoroughly monetised. This cost, borne out of both formal party structures and deeply informal political networks, is disproportionately exclusionary.

“Women, youth, and Physically Challenged Persons (PCPs) are systematically priced out of politics.

“The same groups whose voices we claim to uplift through constitutional and policy frameworks are the very ones we have excluded through the sheer weight of money politics,” he said.

He said that the WFD report highlighted the cost of politics from party nomination forms to the informal but obligatory expenditures on delegates, traditional rulers, community influencers, media operators, security officials and judiciary.

“One of the more disturbing implications of the report is the correlation between high political costs and endemic corruption.

“In a context where elections are viewed as investments, public office becomes a site of capital recovery. Contracts are inflated, public appointments are monetised, and governance becomes transactional.

“What emerges is a vicious cycle. Only the wealthy can afford to contest elections. Once in office, they must recoup their investment.

“In doing so, they deepen public cynicism, which further devalues democratic participation. The moral basis of governance is thus eroded,” Chinda said.

He stressed the need for urgent reform, with recommendations for the executive, legislature, political parties, electoral management body and the civil societies.

He also recommended that political parties should conduct primary elections to substitute candidates rather than go through general elections during supplementary elections.

The lawmaker also said that strong punitive measures should be meted on INEC staff caught in electoral malpractice.

“And anyone who exceeds spending limit should be barred from elective office for certain number of years,” he said.

Mr Adebowale Olorummola, Country Director, WFD, stressed the need to create a more inclusive political environment for all, and strategies on addressing cost of politics.

“The insights from this study offer a detailed look at how financial barriers to political participation silence many voices, particularly those from underrepresented groups.

“While democracy flourishes through the contributions of diverse voices, the steep costs associated with political engagement often restrict access and representation,” he said.

Dr Yusuf Dantalle, National Chairman, Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said that people should seek political office for the betterment of the entire Nigerian populace.

Dantalle said that politics should be done in a way that will be reflective of the needs of the people.

He said that IPAC established the directorates of Women Affairs, people with disability and the youth, which are being championed by various political parties to drive the inclusion agenda.

Mrs Amina Byrhm, President, National Women Leaders Forum of Political Parties in Nigeria, said that the cost of politics had hindered women’s participation.

Byrhm urged stakeholders to remove the barriers and advance a more inclusive and equitable political space.

Dr Ayibakuro Mattew, Governance Advisor, Foreign Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), emphasised the need for incentives that would align with the voters and politicians to promote inclusion and address cost of politics.

Henry Nwawuba, Executive Secretary, National Assembly Library and Resource Centre, said that the cost of participating in politics had become a major barrier to entry, and had not brought out the best players in the game.

Meanwhile, other participants unanimously agreed that the increasing cost of politics in Nigeria, unchecked, is a threat to democratic norms and sustainability.

They said that urgent action was required through a concerted multi-stakeholder approach to address the systemic and structural factors affecting the monetisation of the political process.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the “Cost of Politics and Political Inclusion” was unveiled and the findings was presented by Dr Hakeem Onapajo, the Team Lead. (NAN)(www.nannews.ng)

Edited by Kadiri Abdulrahman