The recent disqualification of former central bank governor, professor Charles Soludo by All Progressive Grand Alliance Party ( APGA) Screening Committee is a further manifestation of lack of Internal democracy in Nigeria political parties. He was disqualified along with Emmanuel Nweke, Tony Nnacheta, Chinedu Francis Idigo, Oseloka Obaze and Dr. Chike Obidigbo. The six candidates who were disqualified by the party’s Governorship Screening Committee on August 9, 2013 had appeared before the APGA governorship Screening Appeal Panel to contest their disqualification.
Well, the appeal panel chaired by Tony Ojielo, Bala Bako, secretary, Hajia Hadiza Aliyu Gogori, and chief Ogometu Ukpenetus as members after hearing their appeals proclaimed to reporters that their appeal lacked merit and that they had no choice but to uphold their disqualification.
The Screening committee however cleared Chukwuemeka Emmanuel Nwogbo, Paul Odenigbo, Uche Lillian Ekwunife, Chief Willie Obiano, John Nwosu, John Okechukwu Emeka and Nwachi Patrick Obianwu to contest the primary.
Some of the reasons given by the Screening committee for disqualifying the candidates are: non-presentation of voters card, inability to submit tax clearance, lack of financial strength to execute the campaign and incomplete certificate.
The candidates disqualified have already paid 2 million naira ($12,600) for expression of interest form and 10 million naira ($63,300) for nomination form. Will APGA refund their money? What is actually going on here is that party leaders are scheming to impose their preferred candidate on the party. They started by screening out high profile candidates like Professor Soludo who will easily defeat their preferred candidate if allowed to run in APGA primary election. Unknown candidates that can easily be manipulated out of the primary election are left to go through predetermined outcome, thus paving the way for the party leader’s preferred candidate.
These screening committees and appeal panels are nothing but political hacks and opportunists who are there to do the bidding of the party leaders. What they do not understand is that they may have committed political suicide by selecting unknown candidates that will certainly doom their party’s chance of winning the general election. They are counting that Anambra citizens will vote for party instead of personality. I beg to differ because governor Peter Obi’s reelection was partly due to the fact that the revered founder and leader of APGA, late Chief Odumegwu Ojukwu specifically pleaded to Anambra citizens to honor him for the last time by reelecting governor Peter Obi because he knew that he may not be around in 2013 due to his deteriorating health.
Well, APGA is following the footsteps of other Nigeria political parties which has stifled development of internal democracy. Why didn’t APGA let all these candidates run in the primary and let the best candidate prevail. That will indeed show that APGA is a real democratic party capable of setting good example for other political associations. APGA leader’s action may boomerang on them since they may have inadvertently cleared the way for All Progressive Congress (APC) candidate, Senator Chris Ngige to coast to victory on November 16 gubernatorial election should be decide to run. Former governor Ngige is well known by his outstanding achievements when he was Anambra state governor. Imposition of candidates, god fatherism and concensus candidacy is alien to democracy and has run it course in Nigeria political scene. Political leaders may be oblivious to this emerging political reality. Political parties that will grasp and practice this simple concept called internal democracy will be the most stable and probably the largest political party in no distant future.