Abuja — As Nigeria gears up to mark 25 years of democratic rule, the Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has called for stronger political parties to ensure sustainable growth and development in the country's democratic process.
Speaking at the African Democratic Congress (ADC) Democracy Summit, IPAC National Chairman, Alh. Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, emphasized the need for solid political party structures to deepen democracy in Nigeria.
He lamented the current state of party politics, where internal crises and factionalization have become the norm, and urged parties to build strong, formidable structures that can attract citizens and promote national interest.
Dantalle also advocated for electoral reform, including the adoption of technology and the establishment of an Electoral Offences Commission to prosecute electoral offenders.
He called for the autonomy of local governments and the scrapping of State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs), which he described as tools for state governors to manipulate elections.
Dantalle said, "The theme of this Summit is very apt - Solid Political Party Structure Critical To Sustainability of the Democratic Process. Political parties are central in modern democracy. They are vital platforms or channels by which citizens aggregate their interests and hold government accountable in electoral politics. In Nigeria, only political parties can nominate and sponsor candidates for various elective positions. Thus, parties are a major stakeholder in the democratic process.
"Today, our party politics is fragile, the structures are weak and factionalized. Leadership disputes are frequent as political parties executives at Ward, Local Government, State and National levels dissipate energy more in conspiring to remove their leaders than in building their parties' structures that will further deepen the nation's democracy.
"This leadership of IPAC has developed a 4-Year Strategic Plan of Action from 2024 - 2027, which will strengthen political parties' structures, foster capacity building of leaders of political parties, instill internal democracy in party management particularly, in nomination of candidates for elections and change of leaderships in accordance with the provisions of their constitutions.
"If free and fair elections are conducted and every vote is counted and count in the overall result, most political parties will win seats. It is why IPAC supports the adoption of BVAS and IReV, and urges INEC to improve on these innovations that will guarantee transparency in elections.
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"Council calls for the autonomy of Local Governments in Nigeria as the third tier of government closest to the people. It is evident that politics is local. Citizens should be encouraged to participate actively in grassroots politics. It is one way of deepening democracy in Nigeria."
IPAC's call for stronger parties came ahead of the 2027 general elections, with many political parties already facing internal crises and leadership disputes.
The organization's push for electoral reform and local government autonomy is seen as a move to address the country's democratic challenges and promote sustainable growth.
The IPAC Chairman's speech was attended by leaders of various political parties, who expressed support for the organization's vision and pledged to work towards building stronger, more democratic parties.
