THERE is intense pressure on former Governor of Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Prof. Chukwuma Charles Soludo, to join the newly registered People’s Democratic Movement, (PDM) to contest the governorship.
It would be recalled that Soludo was disqualified from contesting the election on the platform of the All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA) under questionable circumstances, after he was allegedly given assurance of an automatic ticket by some party stalwarts.
Sources close to the former CBN boss disclosed that barring any change of plans, eminent promoters, after convincing Soludo that he remains the only credible candidate for the governorship, succeeded in wooing the economist to run on the PDM platform, “which would have some parties, like PPA in an electoral collaboration.”
Meanwhile, a human rights and environmental conservation activist, Mr. Ifeanyi Okonkwo, said he would drag to court all the governorship candidates in the forthcoming gubernatorial election in Anambra State for tax fraud.
According to him, the fact that the candidates paid more than N10, 000,000 apiece for their nomination forms is enough grounds to check their tax payment records for the past 10 months.
Okonkwo, who is still in court protesting his wrongful exclusion from the 2003 governorship election in the state, noted that if there is any seriousness in the fight against corruption and efforts by state governments to raise the internal revenue generation base of their states, the election provides a good opportunity.
He regretted the situation where aspirants to public offices rush to get three-year tax clearance certificates few weeks to an election, to satisfy the prequalification requirements. He said such rush provides ample opportunity for corruption and manipulation of tax payment process.
Okonkwo ran for governorship election on the platform of Nigeria Advance Party (NAP) in 2003.
Source: Guardian
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