‘Political Party Bill’ will improve party management – Yiaga Africa

By Jude Opara

Yiaga Africa’s executive director Samson Itodo says the Political Party Bill before the National Assembly is key to improving party management in Nigeria.

Mr Itodo stated this at a technical workshop on the bill in Abuja, organised by the European Centre for Electoral Support for the House Committee on Political Party Matters.

The workshop was organised in collaboration with the YIAGA Africa and the Kukah Centre.

The bill seeks an act to establish an independent authority for the registration, regulation and funding of political parties in Nigeria and related matters.

The bill before the House Committee on Political Party Matters was sponsored by the speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

Mr Itodo said across the world, political parties constitute critical democratic institutions in any democracy, adding that no democracy could flourish without strong, viral political parties, but lamented that in Nigeria, the party system is weak.

According to him, some argue that most of our political parties do not have an ideology. Some have also argued that the moneybags lead Nigerian political parties.

”That it’s about the highest bidder and that our parties are so weak that they are built around individuals, not around institutions, hence they are easily captured as is being experienced in different parts of the country,” stated Yiaga’s boss.

Mr Itodo noted that evidence showed that citizens do not trust political parties in Nigeria, as their interests at times were at variance with the interests of the people.

He said there had been situations where competent people with the heart of service did not make it to the National Assembly because someone within their parties did not like their faces.

”Our parties should be a platform for debates and discussions about the common good and to deliver on good governance, not for accumulating political power to oppress citizens,” he said.

The YIAGA Africa executive director added that the ongoing discussions on the gale of defection among Nigerian politicians were a signal that something was wrong with the nation’s party system.

He said the bill would not only allow Nigeria to get her parties right, it would also positively impact other African countries.

The executive director of the Kukah Centre, Atta Barkindo, said the bill offered a timely opportunity for Nigeria to strengthen parties’ internal democracy, promote accountability, and institutionalise reforms that were long overdue.

The national chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Yusuf Dantalle, commended the workshop’s organisers, saying it would allow stakeholders to evaluate the bill and ensure it aligned with the democratic ideals and expectations of Nigerians.