Political parties in Nigeria, under the aegis of the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), have endorsed the move to unbundle the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) ahead of the 2027 elections.
The body of parties has given its backing to the ongoing legislative process to remove the task of registering and regulating political parties from INEC.
The parties noted that funding political parties is critical for consolidating the nation’s democracy, as is the case in other democracies worldwide.
They further argued that stronger regulation on party funding would drastically reduce the hijacking of parties by godfathers and cabals who impose candidates at the expense of the people and good governance.
However, the civil society organisations (CSOs) and some stakeholders have cautioned that as much as unbundling INEC is desirable, ensuring credible elections in 2027 is sacrosanct.
The parties and CSOs were reacting to a bill that recently passed second reading in the House of Representatives for an act to establish an independent authority for the registration, regulation and funding of political parties in the country.
Sponsored by the Speaker, Hon. Abbas Tajudeen (APC, Kaduna) and Hon. Marcus Onobun from Edo state, the bill seeks to remove political party registration and regulation from INEC and provide for the establishment of an independent authority for the registration, regulation and funding of political parties in Nigeria.
The first objective of the bill is to remove the registration and regulation of political parties from INEC and create an independent body or authority, the Office of the Registrar of Political Parties, for the registration and regulation of the activities and operation of political parties.
While clauses 2 to 5 of the bill make provisions for the registration of political parties by the provisions of the bill, the Registrar of Political Parties established under clause 29 of the bill shall oversee the registration of political parties, mergers of political parties, and regulate the funding and the use of political parties’ funds.
The second aim is to establish the Political Parties Disputes Tribunal under clause 35, which shall determine disputes between members of political parties, disputes between a member of a political party and a political party; disputes between political parties, disputes between an independent candidate and a political party, disputes between coalition partners and appeals from the decisions of the Registrars under the bill.
Thirdly, under clauses 41 and 42, the bill prescribes penalties for offences by political parties and their members and punishments for offenders to ensure transparency and accountability in political parties’ administration in Nigeria.
Also, in clause 47, the bill provides for a consequential amendment of sections 75 to 81 of the Electoral Act 2022, thereby removing the registration of political parties from INEC’s functions.
Furthermore, the proposed legislation provides that a person convicted of an offence under the Bill for which no penalty is provided is liable to a fine of not less than N1,000,000 or to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both.
The national chairman of IPAC, Alhaji Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, told LEADERSHIP that the bill is in tandem with the position of political parties’ call for the unbundling of INEC.
He said it would enable the electoral commission to focus on its mandate of conducting credible elections, with another body established to register political parties and monitor their activities.
The IPAC chairman said the organisation also supported the provision of annual grants for political parties, which was removed in the 1999 constitution’s previous amendment.
“IPAC has been championing the restoration of annual grants to political parties that were removed in previous amendments of the 1999 constitution. Funding political parties is critical for consolidating the nation’s democracy as obtainable in other democracies worldwide. This will drastically reduce the influence of the ubiquitous godfathers and cabals that hijack parties and impose candidates loyal to them at the expense of the people and good governance.
“Due to lack of funds, most political parties don’t have polling agents to protect their votes, which are easily manipulated and stolen by agents of parties with deeper pockets in connivance with corrupt security agents and electoral officials,” he said.
He noted that eight political parties won seats in the National Assembly in the 2023 general elections, more in State Houses of Assembly, and more in recent local government polls.
“With funding, there will be an improvement in the number of political parties that would win elections, which will further strengthen the country’s electoral system,” he added.
