Sunny Moniedafe, one of the aspirants who participated in the March 26, 2022, national convention of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has taken legal action against the party’s leadership, led by Abdullahi Ganduje, for failing to refund his expression of interest and nomination form fees. The case is set to be heard at an Abuja High Court on Monday, October 28.
Moniedafe, an APC chieftain from Adamawa, confirmed the development in an exclusive interview with Sunday PUNCH. He stated that he was compelled to file the lawsuit to recoup his nomination fee due to certain exigencies. The lawsuit comes two years after the aggrieved aspirants were asked to step down for the immediate past National Chairman of the party, Senator Abdullahi Adamu, and other members of the National Working Committee (NWC).
Despite former President Muhammed Buhari’s directive to refund the money to the aspirants who stepped down for Adamu and his NWC members, the ruling party has reportedly refused to reimburse them. Moniedafe and other affected politicians have explored and exhausted all available options to get their money back, including writing letters, visiting, and pleading with the party’s current leadership since Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje took over.
The 107 aspirants who contested various positions for the composition of the NWC paid between N20m and N25m each, depending on the category of the expression of interest and nomination forms. The APC generated over N700m from the exercise, with an additional N3bn raised among stakeholders and party members ahead of the presidential primary.
In a letter written to Adamu dated June 21, 2022, and signed by 107 aspirants, the aggrieved individuals accused the party of excluding them from active participation and assignments at the last party primaries for the election of various candidates.
Felix Morka, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, stated in a phone interview with Sunday PUNCH that the matter has been receiving attention and would be resolved soon.