Nigeria’s Political Parties Are Lawless – Political Scientists

The Nigeria Political Scientists Association (NPSA) has described Nigeria’s political parties as not being law- abiding.

It said the lawlessness of the parties manifested in their premature campaigns and their difficulties in opening their financial books to the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as required by law.

The association stated this in a statement titled ” Reflecting on Nigeria @65: Political Parties and Democracy” and signed by its president, Prof. Hassan Saliu.

“One yardstick to measure the impact of the parties is their extent of respect for the law. Our position is that the parties have not been law-abiding, as evidenced by premature campaigns and difficulties in opening their financial books to INEC as required by law. In most cases, not all organs of the parties meet to give effect to democratic principles.

“Their level of presence in the policy space: Not much can be attributed to the opposition political parties beyond superficial and personality-focused interventions. While specific political figures make regular interventions, such interventions are rarely made on the platforms of their parties. The presentation of well-researched and credible policy alternatives by parties is not yet a culture.

“Every election held in recent times, where voter turnout has been low, suggests that parties are not yet fully aware of their role in the democratic process. As primary agents for mobilising voters, the parties share a significant responsibility for the low voter turnout that has been witnessed in the country.

“Moreover, and quite strangely, their members are often mobilised in the Nigerian way to attend parties’ functions, instead of them doing so willingly. However, they parade registers of membership that do not reflect the successive elections held in the country,” NPSA said.

While noting that many litigations often attended party primaries, the association said that internal democracy is still lacking among the country’s political parties.

It added: “The phenomenon of godfatherism dominates their activities, as evidenced by the unfair treatment of most members and the erosion of a level playing field for contestants on the parties’ platforms.

NPSA said that the evidence from its assessment of political parties indicated that they have not been playing their expected roles in the nation’s democracy.

It noted that the parties have served only as vehicles for gaining political positions in the country, and soon afterwards, the elected and appointed officers become the masters/lords of the parties that elected them into office, with little emphasis shown on promoting standard democratic practices, resulting in a noticeable impact on the well-being of the people.

“The image they have acquired among Nigerians through their activities is that of alien organisations or even secret cults, which are not deeply rooted in the people. What often happens is that they appropriate the real owners of the parties upon being elected into office, due to the absence of adequate feedback mechanisms and reckless access to the state’s funds,” it added.