Issues
Promoting Credible Elections Via Parties’ Internal Democracy
On several occasions, the
Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) pledged to organise free, fair and credible general elections come 2015.
In spite of this assurance, several Nigerians, corporate organisations and the international community have not relented in their calls for the conduct of credible elections in the country.
Recently, UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) committed 35 million pounds (about N9.7 billion) to a five-year programme, aimed at deepening Nigeria’s democracy.
Mr Mark Lowcock, the Permanent Secretary of DFID, said that the programme was designed to make Nigerian democratic institutions more efficient, effective and responsive.
“As Africa’s biggest democracy, countries look forward to Nigeria to lead the continent in many ways.
“Delivering credible elections in 2015 is a key pillar of that leadership,” Lowcock said at the launch of the programme in Abuja on June 4.
He said that the programme was designed to strengthen presidential, federal and state elections in Nigeria, while mitigating the risks of violence.
Lowcock said that the programme would be implemented in collaboration with different stakeholders and political organisations, including the National Assembly, INEC, civil society groups and international partners.
“It is through all of us working together that we can improve the probability of credible and safe elections in 2015,” he added.
In spite of the intervention and INEC‘s promises to deliver credible elections in 2015, observers continue to question the role of political parties in ongoing efforts to consolidate Nigeria’s democracy.
They argue that political parties constitute one of the major democratic institutions in the country, adding, however, that the parties have yet to be fully developed.
They insist that the lack of internal democracy among political parties is one of the limiting factors hindering the development of the Nigerian democracy and frustrating efforts to hold credible elections in the country.
The observers recall an instant when the “New Lagos Movement’’ — a group within the All Progressives Congress (APC) in Lagos State — stormed the Lagos State House of Assembly and the Government House, demanding internal democracy within the party.
Mr Niyi Akinsiju, who led the protesters, said that the imposition of candidates by some APC leaders was an affront on the democratic rights of the party members.
He argued that the endorsement of Mr Akinkunmi Ambode as the next Lagos State Governor by some party leaders could only stand if it was subjected to due democratic process.
He said that the party members could no longer remain silent and allow a few persons within the party hierarchy to select the party’s candidates, vowing to resist any form of imposition of candidates in the lead-up to the 2015 elections.
“Party leaders have the right to endorse candidates; and I and other members of the party have the right to endorse candidates as well.
“What we are saying is that we should have as many aspirants as possible, and that nobody should impose any candidate on us.
“Our democratic rights should be protected and our voices should also count. Democracy is all about equality and popular participation and not a show run by a few individuals.
“There must be internal democracy; we are tired of candidates’ imposition,’‘ he said.
Responding, Gov. Babatunde Fashola of Lagos State assured the protesters that the APC in the state would conduct primaries to choose its candidates for various elective positions.
Fashola, who was represented by Mr Tunji Bello, the Commissioner for Environment, urged party members not to entertain any fear, reiterating that all the party’s candidates would emerge through the democratic process.
“We are going to ensure that there are primaries; that every man and woman, who has the right to contest, will be allowed to contest.
“Nobody will be imposed on you and you will not be asked to do anything apart from what you are legally obliged to do,’’ he said.
Fashola rejected certain insinuations that the APC had decided on those who would contest for certain positions on its platform, saying that the APC would never act against its members’ will.
Political observers, however, insist that the APC scenario is not uncommon, as it affects all the political parties in the country.
Commenting on the parties’ candidate-selection processes, the INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega, said that the lack of internal democracy in the parties had been having negative implications on national stability and efforts to consolidate the country’s democracy.
Jega, who made the declaration at the All Nigeria Political Parties and Political Stakeholders Summit in Abuja in June, said that INEC was deeply concerned about the rising conflicts within political parties and between contestants.
“Parties even find it difficult to select candidates; creating a situation in which practically every party nomination process in Nigeria ends in a court case.
“In most cases, INEC gets either directly or indirectly dragged into these conflicts and court cases, which becomes diversionary.
“Indeed, some of the pre-election court cases have in the past threatened to derail preparations for elections.
“Of particular note is the spate of ex-parte injunctions which have been issued against the commission.
“Yet, one would expect that parties should have clear rules and procedures for selecting candidates and resolving issues arising from the selection, to the satisfaction of all their members.
“It seems to me, therefore, that a primary source of problem here is the lack of internal party democracy, resulting from the lack of commitment to party rules,” he said.
Sharing similar sentiments, Prof. Mariatu Tunuche of the Department of Political Science, Kogi State University, said that the absence of internal democracy within political parties was the major cause of election-related violence.
Tunuche, a delegate representing North-Central geopolitical zone at the ongoing national conference, said: “Most often, conflicts crop up when the people are not allowed to choose their candidates at the level of party primaries.
“Once the imposed candidates are not the people’s choice; it means they have to start rigging elections, right from the primaries to the main elections.
“This is the character of all the political parties, both at the federal and state levels,’’ she said.
To strengthen internal democracy, Tunuche underscored the need for political parties to create a level playing ground for all aspirants during party primaries.
She also stressed the need to examine the roles of governors in determining the choice of candidates in party primaries.
“The governors have become so powerful in Nigeria that they decide what happens at the local, state and federal levels.
“If we can have true political parties that are genuine associations of like minds, where there is the rule of law and where there is be no impunity; then, we are likely to have peaceful elections.
“This is true because the parties’ candidates would be the people’s choice and, therefore, there would be no election violence,’’ she said.
Besides, Tunuche identified the high level of poverty in the country, unemployment, government’s apathy towards the people’s aspirations and the politics of “winner takes all’’ as some of the causes of electoral violence.
“There is anger and desperation all over the place. That is why there is crisis before, during and after elections because the winner takes all.
“Once a winner emerges and you are not in his camp; you are dumped for the next four years until another election.
“So, the marginalised persons always vent their anger and frustration; that’s why we witness electoral violence,’’ she said.
All the same, Mr Sam Eke, the National Publicity of the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC), said that all Nigerians must be allowed to play active roles in the country’s democratic process so as to protect the integrity of the system.
He stressed that part of the challenges facing the country’s democratic process came up because most citizens were not carried along.
Eke said that IPAC would continue to encourage politicians and political parties to play politics by the rules before and after elections.
He said that the organisation would draw up a code of conduct for political parties, in conjunction with registered political parties, to promote internal democracy and open up the political space for all Nigerians to participate
Eke stressed that the parties must create the right atmosphere for every party member to participate in the choice of candidates for positions, whether within the party or during elections.
“We would make sure we call the parties to order, so that we would have a level playing field.
“The system should not be overheated, while politicians should not jump the gun. The credibility of the system should be protected.
“That is what we have been doing and I think we have been having tremendous cooperation,’’ he said.
Eke stressed that IPAC would monitor the parties’ conventions and congresses “to ensure that they adhere strictly to internal democracy tenets.
“We would make sure that their actions abide by the provisions of the Electoral Act, the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and their individual constitutions,’’ he said.
All in all, the consensus of opinion is that if internal democracy is promoted within political parties, the movement toward the 2015 general elections will be hitch-free and less cumbersome.
Oloniruha writes for News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
INEC Chairman, Prof. Attahiru Jega
Emmanuel Oloniruha
This is an open letter to the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory, Chief Nyesom Wike.
Your Excellency,
Sir, ordinarily, I would not be writing an open letter to you, but like a wise man once said, “Silence would be Treason.” So I prefer to stay alive than face the consequences of silence in the face of crime. With each passing day, and as the socio-political tides continue to turn, it has become more pertinent that more people speak up in a concerted MANNER to prevent the death of our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), as we appear to be, in the words of W. B. Yeats, “turning and turning in the widening gyre” heading for an end where the falcon will no longer hear the falconer
It is unfortunate that since losing control of the Federal Government, with the loss of President Goodluck Jonathan at the poll in 2015, our party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has continued on a downward spiral. It is much more painful, that where it is expected that leaders within the party should rise to the challenge and put an end to this decline of our great party, some have instead taken up roles as its undertaker.
It will be hypocritical to claim aloofness to what I believe is your grouse with the PDP and I am not a hypocrite. It will be uncharitable on my part to discountenance the role you have played in strengthening the PDP from 2015 up until the last Presidential primaries of the party. It is my belief that your grouse against certain members of the party who you perceived worked against the party and abandoned it in 2015 and then came around much later to take control of the party, is justified. Also know that your decision to remain in the Party and stifle its progress on the other hand, as a sort of payback, stands condemned. For a man of your pedigree and stature, it is a dishonorable act, highly dishonorable and stands as testimony against all you claim to stand for.
At least, it can be argued that those who you hold this grudge against, abandoned the party completely and did not sit back while actively working to destroy it from within. But what then can be the argument on your own part, seeing that those you are currently working with against your party are the same people who set in motion, and executed surgically, the plans that not only ended our Party’s leadership at the centre, but ended up dislodging the first Niger Deltan to occupy Aso Rock as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces. Is this not akin to “cutting off one’s nose to spite one’s face?” That will be worse than folly. Let us not throw away the baby with the bath water because we do not like the soap used in bathing the baby. It will be a grave mistake.
Honourable Minister, sir, it is rather unfortunate that of all people, you have also decided to play the role of an undertaker not only for our party, but for our dear Rivers State.
I will like to take you down memory lane a little. Let me remind you of your emergence as Guber candidate of the PDP in Rivers State, against all fairness and justice in 2014. You will remember that despite the reality being that you as an Ikwerre man was poised to replace a fellow Ikwerre man in Governor Chibuike Rotimi Amaechi in our multiethnic state, Rivers people overwhelmingly stood by you and pushed for your emergence as Executive Governor of Rivers State in 2015. I dare say that your popularity in the entire Niger Delta region was at an all-time high at this point.
I want you to understand why you were loved across board leading to your eventual emergence as Governor of Rivers State in 2015; it was because when it looked like all were against the second term ambitions of the first Niger Delta man to emerge as President of Nigeria, you became not just a pillar but a beacon of resistance by standing for Goodluck Jonathan. Rivers people, as grateful and rewarding as they can be, paid you back by ensuring your electoral victory against the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC) led by your predecessor. On your emergence, where there were second term Governors in the region, you, a first term Governor, was seen by the people as not just the leader of the PDP, but the leader of the entire Niger Delta region. You earned it, and no one could dispute it.
In 2019, when your re-election bid was being challenged ferociously, Rivers people once again stood solidly behind you. Many were killed in the process of defending your votes. Do you remember Dr. Ferry Gberegbe that was shot and killed while trying to protect your votes in Khana Local Government Area? There are many more unnamed and unrecognised sons and daughters of Rivers State who sacrificed their lives so that you could emerge as a second term Governor of Rivers State.
In 2022/23, Honourable Minister, you oversaw a party primary across board that saw some candidates imprisoned and internal party democracy jettisoned for your wishes, leading to the emergence of flag bearers of our party all singlehandedly picked by you. You have on more than one occasion publicly stated that you paid for all their forms. Even those shortchanged in this process licked their wounds and continued to play their roles as party members to ensure the success of the party at all levels. In what will go down as one of the most keenly contested elections in recent Rivers history, with formidable candidates like Senator Magnus Abe of the Social Democratic Party (SDP), Mr Tonye Cole of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and the vibrant youth driven Labour Party (LP), PDP emerged victorious across board except for Phalga Constituency 1 that was lost to the Labour Party. (Not that you did not loose in some other LGA’s but let’s stick to the official figures declared by INEC).
It begs the question, why then do you want to burn down Rivers State, when everyone who now holds political office emerged through a process designed and endorsed by you? Is it that you do not care about Rivers people and you are all about yourself? If so, I am forced to believe that those around you are not telling you the truth. The truth being that in a state where your words were law; where houses and businesses could be demolished or closed down without any recourse to legalities, where Executive Orders could be deployed to stifle the opposition, that your popularity is now at an all-time low. Probably because they are afraid of you, or of losing the benefits they gain from you, they fail to tell you that what you might perceive as a battle against your successor, has slowly but gradually degenerating into a battle against Rivers State and Rivers people. You know, there is a popular saying that, a man can cook for the community and the community will finish the food, but when a community decides to cook for one man, the reverse is the case.
LEAVE FUBARA ALONE
You have gone on and on about being betrayed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. You point fingers forgetting that some of those same fingers quick to spot betrayals point straight back at you. It is not Governor Fubara that has betrayed the PDP by working against it in the just concluded General Election, and working with the opposition at the State and Federal level to destabilise the party. It is you, Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that betrayed Rivers people by instigating a political crisis with propensity to escalate ethnic tensions in Rivers State. It is you Honourable Minister. It is not Governor Fubara that has declared himself God over all in Rivers State and has no qualms with burning the state to the ground to prove a point. It is you Honourable Minister. It is you Honourable Minister who told the world that the APC was a cancer and you can never support a cancerous party. It is you Honourable Minister who ended up facilitating the emergence of the same “cancerous” APC that has accelerated the economic decline of this country and further impoverished our people with no remorse. All so you can be a Minister of the Federal Capital Territory? The lack of self awareness is gobsmacking.
Some days back I came across a video where you talked about death and how you do not cry when you hear about the death of some people because you have no idea what might have caused it considering many a politician swear “over dead bodies” and still go back on their words. Those words made me think, and I could see the reason behind them. You see, in chosing to be God in the affairs of Rivers people, you have closed your eyes and ears to reason; you see nothing and hear nothing that can cause you to rethink on the path you have chosen. In your quest to “show Fubara” you have unwittingly united a vast majority of Rivers people behind him, so much that even those who despised him because of you, now like or love him, because of you too. In your scheming, I will advise you not to forget that “the voice of the people is the voice of God”.
Note that the war which you have or are waging against Governor Fubara, has gone beyond being merely political as you might see in your minds eye. It is now one that, fortunately for some and unfortunately for others, has evolved into a war against Rivers people. It is good to point out that no one has taken a stand against Rivers people and won. No one has gone against God and won. In your defiant characteristic manner, it will be unfortunate if you believe your own hubris and that of those around you on the possibility of you being the first to successfully go against Rivers people. It will be a needless gamble; one where if you win you create more enemies for yourself than you can withstand on your political journey, and if you lose, your legacy becomes an inglorious and irredeemable one in Rivers State, the Niger Delta, and Nigeria at large. For your sake as regards posterity, it is my greatest wish that you have a moment of sobriety and a deep reflection and introspection on this path you have chosen.
Honourable Minister, sir, what is left of your legacy is on the brink of being completely desecrated and relegated to the dustbin of our political history, and it will be a sad end to what I will say has been a wonderful political career that many can only dream of. The ball is in your court, and may God Almighty have mercy on us all and forgive us for our shortcomings.
Gabriel Baritulem Pidomson
Dr Pidomson is former Chief of Staff, Government House, Port Harcourt and former member, Rivers State House of Assembly.
In 2015, I made a conscious decision to invest my financial resources, my time, and energy into supporting Nyesom Wike’s gubernatorial campaign. I poured my heart and soul into ensuring Nyesom Wike emerged victorious even at the risk of my personal safety.
Again in 2019, I doubled down on my commitment. I invested a significant amount of money to procure campaign outfits for all twenty-three Local Governments Areas of Rivers State. I spared no expense in supplementing Wike’s election efforts in my own local government, and once again putting myself at great risk to safeguard the fairness and transparency of the electoral process.
However, despite my unwavering loyalty and sacrifices, I found myself abandoned and forgotten by Wike. Throughout his eight-year tenure, he failed to acknowledge my contributions or fulfill his promises and agreements. Even as a former Deputy Governor, Wike denied me my severance benefit.
My investment in Wike’s governorship was not just financial – it was a commitment of passion, dedication, and belief in a better future for Rivers State. Yet, his leadership style of dishonesty, greed, drunkenness and rash abuse of senior citizens brought me nothing but disappointment, misery and losses.
By the grace of God, today I speak not as a victim, but as a hero. I have accepted my losses, and I have moved on. And as I reflect on my experience, I cannot help but urge Wike to do the same and allow peace and development to reign in Rivers State.
Nyesom Wike, when you speak of investing in Governor Sim Fubara’s election, remember those like me who also invested in you. Remember the sacrifices I made, the risks I took, and the promises and agreements you left unfulfilled.
It is time for you, Wike, to let go of the past and allow Governor Sim Fubara the breathing space he needs to lead Rivers State forward. Allow him to focus on the challenges of good governance and the aspirations of the people. Spare him these unwarranted and ill-conceived political manoeuvrings founded on personal agenda and not for general good of Rivers State and her people.
I may have lost my investment on Wike, but I have not lost hope in the future of Rivers State. And together, we will continue to strive for a brighter tomorrow.
Long Live the Governor to Rivers State, Sir Siminialayi Fubara!
Long Live the Good People of Rivers State!!
Long Live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!!!
Engr Ikuru is former Deputy Governor of Rivers State.
Tele Ikuru
