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Daily Independent (Lagos)

Lagos — A bill meant to ensure enthronement of internal democracy within the various registered political parties is in the offing, Sunday Independent can confirm.

The bill, a baby of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), if finally scales through at the National Assembly, will empower the electoral agency to regulate and conduct political party primaries.

INEC sources informed our correspondent at the weekend that the proposed bill which is still at the planning stages "is to avert future bickering and in-fighting that have tore political parties apart as a result of disagreement over party primaries and nomination of candidates."

However, opinion seems to have been divided on the attempts by the electoral agency to assert the democratic principle. According to a former senator, Tunde Ogbeha, it was up to the parties to determine the mode of selection of their candidates.

Ogbeha, who spoke in a telephone interview with our correspondent, argued that the present status quo be maintained. According to him, INEC's role was only to screen any candidate presented to it by the parties."If any party decides to adopt a consensus candidate, it was up to it," Ogbeha stressed.

But INEC chairman, Prof Attahiru Jega had submitted that the political class in the country has been very reluctant in subjecting itself to the basic democratic principle by following internal democracy, without which there would not be genuine democracy.

Jega, who neither confirmed nor denied the proposed bill maintained that the only way to ensure credible and acceptable candidates emerging from the parties is to instill internal democracy whereby imposition of candidates for elective positions was not by consensus.

"It is morally indefensible and wrong for any political party to ignore the directive of INEC. Though the law did not permit INEC to bar them from working, it is expected that when we say something is wrong the parties should obey." Jega explained.

He spoke as immediate past Vice Chancellor, University of Abuja, professor Omeiza Yaqub advanced greed and selfishness among reasons why Nigerian politicians have been reluctant to be subjected to basic democratic rudiment.

According to him, an average political elite in Nigeria "is not exactly prepared to serve but to be served, and that is why the idea of consensus is always adopted as a strategy to ensure that the popular will of the majority is always suppressed and replaced with the will of a few selfish party leaders."

Yaqub therefore suggested that "it is high time we did away with political godfathers in the nation's political dispensation," adding that it is "only in Nigeria that any Harry and Tom would position himself as godfather. Nowhere in the world does such a thing exist, but in Nigeria it is business as usual."

A journalist turned politician, Femi Ojodu had while drumming support for Governor Kayode Fayemi, said: "We do not want godfathers in Ekiti State any longer. The God we are serving is enough for us because no person can be as powerful as God Almighty. We are hereby appealing to lazy politicians to go and find something to do."

Ojodu, who won the ticket on the platform of Action Congress of Nigeria (ACN) to contest the central senatorial district, cautioned those portraying themselves as political godfathers in Ekiti State to allow good governance and equity in the party.