Benjamin Kalu: I spent over N70m on election campaigns

Benjamin Kalu, a spokesman for the House of Representatives, believes that the parliamentarians were correct in reviewing the election expense cap in the recently passed electoral modification bill.

Kalu claimed that, in light of current economic circumstances, parliamentarians’ decision to raise upward the expenditure limit for political campaigns in the recently passed measure was the right solution.

Legislators proposed that presidential candidates spend N5 billion, governorship candidates spend N1 billion, while senate and house of representatives candidates spend N100 million and N70 million, respectively.

Nigerians, on the other hand, were outraged by the National Assembly’s decision.

But, in defending their position, the House spokesperson claimed on Good Morning Nigeria, a program on the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA), on Monday that he spent over N70 million on his own election campaign when the economy was not as terrible as it is now, and that the new cap is extremely reasonable.

He went on to say that no politician is obligated to spend up to the level set by the law, stressing that the legislation just sets the upper limit.

“As you are aware, the amount of money that may be spent by those who are contending for one job or another has been capped,” he stated.

“I noticed N70 million for the House of Representatives there, and I know I spent more than N70 million when I ran for office. I spent a lot more than that.

“The question has always been that many people say that the governor’s salary is too high, and the president’s salary is too low.

What most people don’t realize is that this is the maximum amount, not the least. It could be anything from one naira to a million nairas, but don’t go overboard. This is crucial information for Nigerians to understand.

“However, you’ll find that individuals who are questioning it aren’t thinking about the circumstances we’re in – about inflation rates, what our currency is doing in the market right now, and affordability. We can’t do what we could before with less money, and we can’t do it now with more.

“Everywhere in the globe, it’s the same way. There’s a sociological purpose for this, he says: “so that positions aren’t reserved for the wealthy.”