DLA Refunds ₦10.8 Million Nomination Fee To Ex-presidential Aspirant

A Nigerian political party, the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA), has refunded the sum of ₦10.8 million to a former presidential aspirant, Mrs Abisayo Busari-Akinnadeju, after she resigned from the party.

The refund was confirmed in a statement issued on Friday to newsmen by Busari-Akinnadeju.

According to her, the party paid ₦10.8 million, leaving a balance of ₦1.2 million.

“I want to say that the Democratic Leadership Alliance (DLA) has refunded the presidential nomination fee I paid in April 2026, in respect of my aspiration for the Office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria in the 2027 general election.”

“I resigned from the DLA on May 28, because of the imposition of a consensus candidate by means that did not comply with the Electoral Act 2026 and the use of a disciplinary process to remove me as a cleared aspirant when I could not endorse consensus mode.

“I acknowledge receipt of N10.8 million of the Presidential nomination fee I paid in April 2026, and I note that a further N1.2 million remains outstanding. I am grateful that the party has chosen to do the right thing in this respect.”

“It is important, however, that the meaning of this refund is not misunderstood. The return of the money does not return the integrity of the process.

“It is an acknowledgement that the original collection was indefensible. It is not a remedy for what was done in the weeks between the collection and the return,” she said.

Naija News recalls that Busari-Akinnadeju had resigned from the party last week and demanded a refund of her presidential nomination fee.

Despite the refund, she lamented that the process of choosing the party’s presidential candidate for the 2027 election remains flawed.

“There was an intentional attempt to stop me from being screened, a disciplinary action to complete the process after screening.

“The state chairmen of the party were directed not to attend the presidential primary at the headquarter, but to transmit figures to the national secretariat so that a candidate could be produced by a purported consensus,” she alleged.

According to her, the Electoral Act 2026 does not permit consensus without the written consent of every cleared aspirant. She therefore queried the disciplinary actions taken against her.

“My removal, through a disciplinary process convened on three days notice and conducted without particulars, was the route by which that statutory obstacle was cleared.

“Those facts are not undone by a bank transfer. My concern is no longer about my own money. It is about the next aspirant, in this party or any other, whose money may not come back so quickly because she does not have the standing or the platform to demand it,” she added.

Busari-Akinnadeju appreciated Nigerians for their support for her, adding that the right to a fair contest is not a privilege of the well-resourced but a constitutional entitlement of every Nigerian who participates in the political process.

“I thank the Nigerians who stood with me through the past week, who read, who watched, who shared, who wrote, and who made it impossible for this story to be treated as private.

“The strength of public attention is what made this refund possible. The same strength will be needed for the larger work,” she said.

Busari-Akinnadeju added that she had become non-partisan and launched a platform for Nigerians to demand and pursue purposeful leadership for the country.

“The Office of the Nigerian Citizen is open. The Dare Agenda is in motion. The country cannot wait until 2027, and I will not be waiting until then to do the work I am here to do,” she said.