A new report released by Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) has raised alarm over the increasing cost of politics in Nigeria.

The organisation revealed that post-election litigation may require as much as N1 billion in legal fees to contest or defend a mandate.

The report also warned that the country?s democratic future is at risk as women, youth, and persons with disabilities (PWDs) are being priced out of the political space, saying justice itself is now only affordable to the highest bidders.

In its latest report, ?How Money is Undermining Nigeria?s Democracy,? launched in Abuja on Tuesday and supported by the European Union under the WYDE Civic Engagement project, the organisation noted that with Nigeria?s political economy, a House of Representatives ticket can cost up to N500 million.

The document revealed that some senior lawyers now charge between N500 million and N1 billion per client to handle election disputes from the tribunal level to the Supreme Court.

This trend, the report stated, has transformed the judiciary into a strategic yet prohibitively expensive extension of the electoral process.

According to WFD, top governorship candidates in Edo and Ondo States spent between N2.3 billion and N3.8 billion in the 2024 off-cycle elections.

It said that despite the Electoral Act setting firm campaign spending limits, enforcement remains weak or non-existent.

Beyond campaigns, the document revealed that aspirants also budget huge sums for vote buying, security, community mobilisation termed ?logistics? and even spiritual consultations.

It stated that constituents, in turn, expect constant financial support, ranging from school fees and medical bills to funeral expenses, while it also documented how candidates now routinely sell off assets, secure loans, or rely on political godfathers to finance their campaigns.

Speaking during the launch of the report in Abuja, WFD Country Director Adebowale Olorunmola lamented that many Nigerians willing to serve are unable to access the political space due to the high cost of emerging as a candidate.

He stressed the need for strategic reforms to reduce the financial burden on aspirants, particularly women, youth, and PWDs

He noted that despite token nomination fee waivers, none of the 13 self-identified PWDs who contested in 2023 were elected, while only four per cent of House of Representatives members fall within the 18?35 age bracket.

Olorunmola said, ?The high cost of politics is not peculiar to Nigeria. It is a situation that we are dealing with globally, but some countries with political will have been able to deal with their situation and minimise the cost of politics. But if you look at the case of Nigeria, one of the key findings was the fact that a lot of people are unable to access the space.

?People who are willing to serve, who are willing to contribute, are unable to access the space because of the high cost to access the space. To even emerge as a candidate of your political party in the first place, it is a lot of money. And when you emerge as the candidate, you start spending money again to campaign, which is huge.?

National Women Leader of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and President of the National Women Leaders Forum of Political Parties in Nigeria, Amina Byrhm, described the exclusion of women as systemic and deeply rooted in both financial and cultural factors.

She argued that offering women free nomination forms without structural inclusion reinforces the perception that female candidates are not competitive.

Byrhm said, ?Psychologically, we are not standing on the same pedestal as the men. It?s not a level playing field. If a man goes to buy a form for one million naira, and you?re given that form free of charge, psychologically, everybody considers that you?re not ready for these elections.

?And so that?s why we are asking that even in the electoral acts, even in the party?s constitution, we have the 35 per cent. However, when it comes to the gender bill, it?s not being passed, so it remains neutral because they are not specifically telling us what we are giving to women.

?That?s why we are saying that we should have these conversations, as we go around amending the constitution, the party?s constitution, we want to even start from the parties. For instance, in PDP, I?m the only woman in the National Working Committee.

In his remarks, the chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, said that political parties themselves are victims of institutional failure.

He said IPAC had started mainstreaming inclusivity into its constitution and urged all parties to strengthen internal democracy and support marginalised groups. (The Guardian)

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