National Wire About Nigerians, Nigerian Business and Other Stories
Lagos State Secretary of the Providence People’s Congress (PPC), Ben Efe, has said that the party is set to take over from the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in the February 2019 elections.
He said with the party’s prsidential candidate,Victor Okhai,PPC is optimistic it would succeed in 2019.
Speaking to journalists in Lagos on Wednesday, Efe said Nigerians would vote for Okhai as well as the Lagos State governorship candidate, Omolara Adesanya, and other candidates for all the elective positions.
He suggested that the strength of the party made it take the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) four years to register the PPC, despite satisfying all necessary requirements.
According to him, the party “submitted our registration form same time the APC did but it took INEC four years to register us.”
Narrating the rigours involved in the party’s securing INEC’s nod, Efe said, “The first time we tried to register, it was N100,000, later they changed it to N1m and we paid. We sourced the fund from everyday people. Some paid, N5,000, others paid N10,000, and so on till the N1m was completed.
“They gave us an impression that after a few months if we didn’t hear from them, we should assume we have been registered.
“When we went to check again, it was that our form was not found but we had our receipt. We showed it to them. We came to a compromise and we paid another N1m, making N2m, but it was recorded as N1m.
“Then they called us again for another verification in July 2017 and by December 17, the certificate was given to the party.”
The state chairman, however, said the party believes in integrity and that intending aspirants need not break the banks because they want to contest on the party’s platform.
“We are party of God-fearing men and women. This is a party that you don’t have to sell your house because you want to contest. When you sell your house because you want to contest, you will want to recover your money when you get to power, and that is the foundation of corruption,” he stressed.
Efe also observed that, “For too long the system of our nation has been running zigzag and upside down, it is time to set things right and we want to take power back and give it to the people. PPC is about the people, we do not recognise god-fatherism and money bags, everybody is welcome in the party.”
He however noted that the party is still silent on electioneering campaigns because it is not time for campaigns though some parties are already embarking on “illegal campaigns.”
