Politics
2019: ‘91 Political Parties Unwieldy’
Political analysts have said that having 91 political parties in a developing country like Nigeria is unnecessary and awkward and abysmal.
They made the assertion while speaking with The Tide source yesterday in Lagos on political developments in the country.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on August 16, issued certificates to 23 newly registered political parties, raising the number of registered parties in Nigeria to 91.
The Commission in a statement issued by Mohammed Haruna, its National Commissioner and Member, Voter Education and Publicity Committee, in Abuja said that it was the last round of the registration of parties until after the general elections on February 16, 2019.
“This suspension is in line with Section 78 (1) of the Electoral Act, which requires all applications for registration as political party to be concluded latest six months to a general election.”
Earlier, Chairman of INEC, Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, had explained that the commission would continue to register any association that meet the legal requirements for registration as political party ahead of 2019 general elections.
“Once associations meet the legal requirements as political parties, the commission is under obligation to register them, but the law also provides for a period of six months to general elections.
He noted that as part of its duties, the commission would do what the law required of it, saying “if we don’t, they will go to the court and the court will order the commission to register them as political parties.
“But, we will not allow the commission to be dragged to court over a matter which we have responsibility under the law. So, we will continue to do the needful, “ he said.
A Professor of Political Science at the National Open University of Nigeria, Femi Otubanjo, said INEC was a victim rather than a villain in the act of registration of political parties.
According to Otubanjo, their hands are tied by the Constitution. They have no choice but to register parties that have met the prerequisites for registration.
“’Registering more parties is awkward and unnecessary, though, we can not rule out the fact that these minor parties that are registering can transform into major political parties.
“’But again, the ideological space does not allow for so many parties. People can always stick to two or three political parties.
“INEC is not the one creating this problem, the problem is already embedded in our constitution and I do not think any good will come out of reviewing the constitution in this regard,” he said.
Otubanjo said that INEC would have to produce an understandable documentation of ballot papers as well as embark on more voter education to manage the situation.
He said it would be cumbersome dealing with over 90 political parties.
“’What this means is that INEC has to do more work by producing a more acceptable and understandable documentation, particularly the voters’ list or ballot list for voting and have more materials on the day of election
“INEC will have to do more voter education, which is where the challenge is right now. They need to educate voters to know the different symbols of political parties.
“It will be more difficult work for INEC because it will not be easy to conduct an election with huge longish ballot paper in a largely illiterate country.
“That is the only was to manage this situation and make sure that people are able to vote adequately.
“The political parties have a greater responsibility to educate their supporters on their symbol so that they don’t lose votes due to the inadequacies of their supporters.
“They have to teach and enlighten their supporters how to identify your symbol and vote immediately, without spending so much time searching through the a long list of symbols.
“So, a lot of voter education is required when you have a longish ballot paper they need to be enlightened about what to do,” Otubanjo said.
Contributing, a Professor of Jurisprudence and International Law, Akin Oyebode said the registration of too many parties is abysmal and called for a review of the Electoral Act to de-register or exclude political parties that have little or no following.
“In other systems that we know of, you may put a minimum that a party should score in an election to continue to be relevant as a political party. May be five or two per cent.
“Now, it is an all-comers game and when or where is it going to stop? We have to review our electoral laws to exclude parties that have little or no following.
“Even in the U.S., it is not just the Democrats and the Republicans, there are what we call fringe parties.
“What we need to do in Nigeria, is to separate the wheat from the chaff. Let us know parties that have good followership, prescribe minimum or certain criterion for them for recognition.
“If you fail to get certain percentage of votes you lose your registration,” he said.
Also, the 2nd Vice-President of the Nigeria Bar Association, Mr Monday Ubani, said that having a longish ballot paper would create confusion for voters.
“As far as we know, the two major political parties that will make impact in 2019 general elections remain APC and PDP, all others are appendages.
“The political parties are too many. I think INEC has an agender for allowing such. Too many cooks spoil the broth.
“And the law requires that all the political parties be listed in the ballot paper, I still wonder how they will enlist all the 91 parties without creating confusion for the voters.
Ubani said that INEC wants to justify their huge budget by registering more parties.
“And now, that INEC is crying that it needs funds to conduct the election, it is now registering more parties so they will justify the huge budget they are demanding.
“These political parties and INEC need to do more to educate the masses to avoid confusion on the election day.
“The ballot paper will be too long and a voter will take so much time searching for the symbol of the party he or she wants to vote for. This can even cause another delay for voters on the queue,” Ubani said.
Also, another Professor of Political Science, Sunny Akpotor, said that opposition would be weakened due to the registration of too many parties by INEC.
Akpotor, who works in the Delta State University, Abraka, said that strong and proper opposition developed democracy and present options for citizen.
“When the parties are too many, opposition role will be weak and Nigerians may not be able to make a choice.
“In the U. S., only two major political parties are winning. In Nigeria, the parties are seen or heard of, only during electioneering. Thereafter, they disappear for nearly four years, until the next election period.
“A few big parties assume the role of opposition, so, for what purpose are we registering more parties?
Chairman-elect of Southern Ijaw Local Government Area of Bayelsa State, Hon. Target Segibo has alleged that the prevalent security challenges in some communities of the local government area could be traceable to parental failure on one hand, and frivolous lifestyle of children and wards involved in crime and criminality in the area on the other hand.
Segibo, who was a pioneer member of the State House of Assembly between 1999-2003, stated this in Yenagoa, the state capital recently while fielding questions from newsmen shortly after receiving his Certificate of Return from the Bayelsa State Independent Electoral Commission (BYSIEC).
He indicated his continued desire to work for the peace and rapid socio-economic development of the local government, noting that having been actively involved in the politics of the area for decades now, he was more grounded in working on modalities towards ensuring enduring peace and unity in troubled communities of the area.
The Chairman-elect who also lauded the state governor, Senator Douye Diri, the state’s leadership of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the electorate for finding him worthy to be elected Chairman of the local government, called on parents/guardiance not to renege on their primary responsibilities of watching over their children and wards, arguing that as the largest local government area in the state, Southern Ijaw should also be noted for peace and development.
“For over 20 years, I’ve been living peacefully with all my neighbours, both at home in Oporoma, headquarters of Southern Ijaw LGA and here, in Yenagoa.
“I’ve grown up children, but I don’t give them more than what they needed as students to go to school and stay okay as a father because I discovered that most of the security challenges we’re facing today in the Southern Ijaw LGA, and other parts of the state, is traceable to parental failure and children’s wanting to lead a frivolous lifestyle”, he said.
“As parents/guardians we should be able to know the kind of friends our children/wards keep. We must not pamper them. We must tell them that they have to do something legal to earn a living. We must question any source of sudden wealth and affluence on the part of our children and wards.
“But I want to assure our people of Southern Ijaw that as their incoming Chairman, when I’m sworn-in, having been actively participating in the politics and other activities of the area, collectively we’ll work to ensure enduring peace, unity and development of the LGA”, he added.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
The Bayelsa State House of Assembly has screened and confirmed the first batch of Commissioner-nominees for Governor Diri’s second term State Executive Council.
The Tide gathered that the State Chief Executive in a bid to form his cabinet for his second tenure had earlier submitted a list of 14 names to the state legislature for confirmation as commissioners.
However, The Tide reports that only 13 out of the 14 nominees attended the constitutional exercise of the lawmakers.
Though no official reasons have been given, the immediate past Commissioner for Sports, who is also a former member of the state Assembly, Hon. Daniel Igali, was conspicuously absent during the screening exercise.
Inline with the House’s rules and Standing Orders, two other former members of the state Assembly who were also part of the nominees, Dr Gentle Emelah, immediate past Commissioner for Education, and Mrs Ebiwou Koku-Obiyai, were simply asked to take a bow and leave.
Following the exhaustive grilling, however, the immediate past Commissioner for Justice and Attorney-General, Mr Biriyai Dambo, SAN, his Finance counterpart, Mr Maxwell Ebibai, were confirmed.
Also confirmed were the immediate past Works and Infrastructure Commissioner, Moses Teibowei, Mrs Koku Obiyai, Dr Gentle Emelah, Ayibakipreye Brodericks, George Ekpotuatein Flint and Komuko Akari Kharim.
Furthermore, Mr Perepuighe Biewari, Dr Jones Ebieri, Barr. Peter Afagha, Mrs Bidei Elizabeth and Michael Magbisa received the nod to be appointed commissioners by the state lawmakers.
In his advice to the nominees shortly after their screening, Deputy Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Michael Ogbere, enjoined the Commissioner hopefuls to work as a team with those they will meet on ground, admonishing that they remain loyal to the government at all times.
On his part, Leader of the House, Hon. Monday-Bubou Obolo, said the people of the state expect a lot trom them and that the House will do its best to keep them on their toes through its oversight functions while giving them the needed legislative support where necessary.
By: Ariwera Ibibo-Howells, Yenagoa
A former lawmaker representing Degema/Bonny Federal Constituency in the House of Representatives, Hon. Farah Dagogo, has described the outcome of the 98th National Executive Committee (NEC) meeting of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) as another demonstration of the resilience of the party to weather any storm that comes its way.
This is contained in a statement released bythe Special Assistant, Media and Publicity to the estwhile federal legislator, Ibrahim Lawal, at the weekend.
In the build up to the NEC meeting, suggestions and permutations had been rife of the likelihood of the PDP running into another round of crises as the party tries to navigate a path for the North Central Zone to produce a substantive National Chairman to complete the truncated tenure of former Chairman, Dr. Iyiorchia Ayu.
Speaking on the sidelines of the NEC meeting that saw Umar Damagum retain his position as the party’s Acting National Chairman until the next NEC meeting scheduled for August, Dr Dagogo said those who genuinely have the best interest of the party at heart made timely sacrifices to keep the party firm and afloat.
The former member of the National Assembly said but for the political maturity and sagacity employed by the party’s National Leader and former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alongside other leaders, before and during the NEC meeting, the party would have ‘played into the hands of some individuals, who wanted the party to implode in order to improve their political fortunes’.
He expressed optimism that by the adjourned date of August, Damagum would have seen that “it is in the best interest of the party for him to vacate the position for a more purposeful and result oriented leadership’’.
“ For me, the outcome of the NEC meeting was a win-win situation. Against all odds, the party came out unscathed and will continue to wax stronger.
“Yes, the Acting Chairman retained his position, but it is obvious to him now and others that it would be in the best interest of the party for him to vacate that position for a more purposeful and result oriented leadership by August.
“The so called tension generated in the build up to the NEC Meeting was actually orchestrated by the inordinate desire of some few individuals who wanted to thwart the sterling call by party faithful for a review of its failing leadership and directionless.
“ The Party however did not play into the hands of those individuals, who wanted the party to implode in order to improve their political fortunes. Thanks in good measure to the political maturity and sagacity employed by the Party’s National Leader and Former Vice President, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, alongside other leaders, before and during the NEC Meeting. We are where we are now because of their sacrifices and dedication to the party, “ he added.
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