Oyegun, Muazu
the huge crowd that turn up at campaign rallies being held by political parties ahead of the February general elections are often rented, investigations by SUNDAY PUNCH have shown.
The ruling Peoples Democratic Party and the opposition All Progressives Congress had been making claims and counterclaims on which had more popularity and which attract more crowd at rallies.
In Akwa Ibom State, it was learnt that women and youth groups, as well as ‘elders’ in the state were often hired by parties to boost their political campaigns.
An Uyo resident and member of the PDP, Mr. Eric Ekanem, told one of our correspondents in Uyo that before some PDP members defected to the APC and the Accord Party, the state government had been into crowd hiring.
He said, “If you observe, you will see that those who attend PDP rallies and campaigns are often mobilised and at the end of the event they are given between N200 and N2000 each.
“The amount each person receives depends on the groups they belong to.”
One of the women who had been hired from Eket, Ms. Ikwo Edet, told one of our correspondents that what she received N500 from her group when they attended the last political rally in Uyo.
SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that in Umuahia, Abia State, about 40 per cent of the crowd at political rallies was rented.
A source, who begged not to be named, stated that unemployed youths, students of both secondary and tertiary institutions, tricycle and motor bike riders, as well as traders form the category of individuals easily rented.
The source said the rent range from N500 to N3000, depending on the category of the individual and the importance of the political rally.
Confirming this, a tricycle driver, who identified himself simply as ‘One Nigeria’, said he did not belong to any political party but was ready to be hired by any party that could pay his charges.
According to him, he collects N5000 from any party which wants to hire him, especially if it is for a presidential or governorship rally.
In Enugu State, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that the large student population in the state was a reliable resource for politicians wishing to parade massive turnout at campaign rallies.
Our correspondent also observed that most rallies in Enugu metropolis were attended by large numbers of villagers, who were conveyed to the venue in commercial buses hired for the purpose.
A student, who gave his name as Ebuka, told SUNDAY PUNCH he had been part of a rented crowd in several rallies.
“We have linkmen who are close to the politicians. Whenever the need arises, they usually get in touch with us. We are mobilised through these contact persons,” Ebuka said.
It was a similar case in Bayelsa State, where parties reach out to youth and women groups in the local governments areas.
Campaigns and rallies, it was learnt, had become a big business for cluster groups in the state.
A regular participant of such rallies, Ms. Ebilami Victor, said she usually took part in such activity because it was a way of making money.
Victor, who hails from Ekeremor area of the state, said they were paid through their women leader.
“It depends on where the campaign is taking place. If it is within the local government area, each participant is usually paid between N1,500 and N2,000. But if it is Yenagoa, the state capital, we are paid N3,000.
“But when it is outside the state, each person is paid between N2,000 and N5,000.”
A leader of the APC in the state said crowd hiring by political parties was real and not limited to one political party.
The politician, who did not want his name in print, said those hired were paid between N2,000 and N3,000.
He said, “It is the perception of the people. They believe that such campaigns afford them the opportunity to get their own dividends of democracy. Some have always said that when politicians get to power, they become inaccessible.
“I think the whole thing boils down to poverty and illiteracy. Until those factors are addressed, crowd hiring will not stop.”
In Oyo State, there is a network through which crowds are gathered for political purposes. The ring is run by a women group and a male group, it was learnt.
SUNDAY PUNCH further learnt that the crowd is usually raised through market leaders, who bring together market women who sell by the road side.
Depending on the distance from their home, each individual is given between N500 and N1,000. Their coordinator can earn up to N5,000. They are also given baseball caps, wrist bands and T-shirts branded in the name of party that hired them.
Youths in Ondo State are having a swell time attending political rallies organised by parties and candidates ahead of the elections.
A party member, who gave his name as Adedeji, came to one of the rallies held by the Social Democratic Party in Akure. He told one of our correspondents that his brother was vying for a seat in the Ondo State House of Assembly.
He said individual candidates brought their supporters to the rally and his brother only got as much supporters as he could pay for to attend the rally.
He disclosed that each supporter received N2, 500 to attend the rally, adding that at some other instances, the amount could be more or less.
Another supporter, Makinde, who is unemployed, told our correspondent that he received N1000 to attend the rally.
In Cross River State, SUNDAY PUNCH learnt that political parties had resorted to contracting the job of hiring crowd to individuals or groups within the party.
Depending on the venue of the rally, the task of mobilising at least 1000 persons spread across the 18 local government areas of the state could cost between N800, 000 and N1m.
In the ruling PDP, one of such mobilisers, who preferred not to be named, said his last task of hiring 300 persons to a rally at the central senatorial district cost N1m.
“I hire buses to all the 18 LGAs, where I already have contacts with the key persons that will gather the crowd. I pay them N2, 000 each. It could be more, depending on what happens at the venue of the rally. They will sing and dance, carrying the banner of the candidate,” he added.
In the case of Edo State, a source within the APC told our correspondent under condition of anonymity that although many of the ‘supporters,’ usually mobilised by the ward and LGA chairmen of the party, were registered members, some of them were onlookers who wished to join the rallies.
“You know that there is unemployment and hunger everywhere. They can get tokens of N1,500 or N2,000, for transportation or feeding.
“If you are politically active, you would understand that you don’t have to be a card-carrying member of a party to show your support,” he said.
Another source in the state PDP noted that these ‘supporters’ were paid according to the financial capacity or political position sought by the organisers.
He said, “The party leaders at the LGA level are usually in charge of sourcing the youths for political rallies.
“Each could get as much as N2,000, depending on who is in charge and the candidates they are supporting.
“The amount is not usually the same for all the supporters because there are leaders even within the youths and women who get higher amounts.”
In Rivers State, both the PDP and the APC mobilise people through their leaders at the grass roots, it was learnt.
Some of the people are paid between N4,000 and N5,000, depending on what the party leaders at the grass roots can pay.
While payments are made before or after rallies, SUNDAY PUNCH witnessed where a group of persons fought over the breach in agreement of amount paid to them.
But one of the PDP chieftains in the state, who did not want his name mentioned, insisted that his party had only been providing logistics for the crowd.
“We want to win the elections in February and that is why we are doing the needful. We are not hiring crowd, but we provide logistics for hiring vehicles, providing water for the people and also mounting canopies at campaign venues,” he said.
There are reports that leading political parties in Kwara State also rent crowds for their political rallies.
The parties, under the guise of membership mobilisation, are said to hire jobless youths, students and middle-aged men and women to gather with the members of the party and to give the impression that the party has large followership.
The hired crowd are said to be paid between N1, 000 and N2,000 per person, depending on the distance.
In the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja, SUNDAY PUNCH investigations reveal that apart from party loyalists and traders who attend political rallies to sell their wares, there are also middle men/women who are contracted to ‘mobilise’ members of the public for fees for as low as N1, 500 or even a branded T-shirt, wrapper or cap.
Mr. Ozumba Okoro (not real name), an Abuja-based self-styled ‘consultant’, who pleaded anonymity, said there was nothing unusual about what he does.
He told SUNDAY PUNCH, “Even for a funeral, if you can afford it, we can get people to attend and cry with or for you. However, it is easier during political events.”
Asked to shed more light on his trade, he said, “It is simple. If, for example, you want 100 or 1,000 people, we will sit down and discuss.
“If you are contesting for governorship position and you want 500 people, you will provide between 700 to 1,000 T-shirts with your photograph and the party symbol printed on them.
“You will also provide wrappers for women. And provide money for logistics. Depending on your bargaining power, I can ask you to pay N5,000 per head and if I am bringing 500 people, that means you will pay 250,000. This is the money we use to hire buses and provide them with light refreshments.”
Okoro further explained that if he wanted women for example, all he needed to do was to contact the chair lady of a given association in the market.
He maintained that the easiest group to mobilise were commercial motor cycle operators. “Most of them find it difficult to make N1, 000 a day, so if you offer them N1, 000 plus T-shirt and cap for a three-hour job, you are in business,” he added.
However, the National Publicity Secretary of the APC, Mr. Lai Mohammed, told SUNDAY PUNCH in an interview in Abuja said it was impossible for the party to hire a crowd for any of its events.
Mohammed said, “We don’t have the resources to advertise, people come for our events. Everybody is tired of close to 16 years of waste and unbridled corruption, which has defined PDP’s rule.
“Take a look at the sheer number of people who attended our Kano rally, not even the PDP, with all of its access to wealth, could attract that number of citizens. If it was a hired crowd, the PDP could have matched or even surpassed it.”
Similarly, the National Legal Adviser of the PDP, Mr. Victor Kwon, who spoke with one of our correspondents in an interview in Abuja, denied renting of crowd by his party.
Kwon said, “Those who make such insinuation are either ignorant of the cult-like followers that we have across the country.
“It is a lie to suggest that we pay those who attend our rallies. The PDP is the only party that has members in all villages and hamlets in the country.”
