A one-time Senate President and Chairman, Presidential Committee on Electoral Reform, Chief Ken Nnamani, has advocated adoption of two or three major political parties as a way of cutting electoral costs and curtailing incidents of election riggings.
Nnamani, who is now the leader of ruling All Progressives Congress APC in the South East, spoke Tuesday at the Nigeria Unity Conference and the formal unveiling of ‘Party Politics Magazine’ by the Secretary General of Inter-Party Advisory Council IPAC, Chief Perry Opara.
He said: “The proliferation of political parties is such that it not only creates problems for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) but even for the voters.
”In Liberia, there is going to be a run-off on November 7 because the election was inconclusive. The lesson from that is that if they had formed two or three major political parties, there would have been no need for a run-off.
”You may not like to hear this; having many political parties in a country like Nigeria which is bigger than Liberia would cost so much money.”
According to him, “the idea of everybody aspiring to be the chairman of a political party, even if it is one family, does not make sense.
”I will recommend very strongly that in future, regardless of our size, after all Nigeria is not larger than the United States of America which has two major parties.
“We have many political parties but one lottery which is Nigeria. We are beginning to get it right in Nigeria. What we are not getting right is this multiplicity of political parties. We (electoral reform committee) have submitted our report.
”We are not trying to limit participation, but you can find space within a major political party. To make us practice democracy promptly, we need to have two or three major political parties so that the rigging of elections can stop because you cannot rig where you are not strong – you will be stoned to death.”
Currently, Nigeria has 46 registered political parties, while there are more than 108 political associations that have applied to INEC seeking registration as political parties.
In the 2015 general elections, INEC had said while the “core cost” of the election was $547 million, political parties and their candidates spent between $1.5 billion and $2 billion.
Earlier, Chief Opara had said: “We must begin to talk about the things that unite us and not base our leadership recruitment process on ethno-religious sentiments.”
The magazine which was unveiled by the Chairman, Conference of South East Traditional Rulers, Igwe Cletus Ilomuanya, also had in attendance top government officials and paramilitary officers.
