THE INTER-PARTY Advisory Council (IPAC) says the inclusion of opposition members in the ruling party’s presidential campaign council undermines opposition unity and weakens its ability to hold the government accountable.
The National Publicity Secretary of the IPAC, Mr Martins Egbeola, made this known in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Abuja.
Egbeola spoke to NAN against the backdrop of the inclusion of Gov. Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra (APGA), Gov. Ademola Adeleke of Osun (Accord) and FCT Minister Nyesom Wike (PDP) in the APC presidential campaign council.
He expressed concerns about political party discipline, ideological consistency and the future of opposition politics in Nigeria.
Egbeola said individuals, including Wike of the PDP and Soludo of APGA, had the right to accept such appointments.
However, he said the development raised serious questions about the cohesion and credibility of opposition parties and their capacity to hold the ruling party accountable.
According to him, when prominent opposition figures participate openly in the ruling party’s campaign activities, it blurs political distinctions and undermines public confidence in their ability to provide credible alternatives.
He said the development also posed significant dangers to Nigeria’s democracy, adding that the ruling party continued to consolidate its influence while opposition parties struggled to maintain viable and effective political platforms.
“The danger to our democracy is equally significant.
“Nigeria appears to be moving towards a political environment in which the ruling party continues to consolidate its influence while the opposition struggles to maintain a viable and effective presence.
“A functioning democracy requires a strong and vibrant opposition, else, we risk having a system where opposition parties exist largely in name but lacking in capacity to challenge the government or offer Nigerians meaningful alternatives,” he said
Egbeola noted that a functioning democracy required a strong and vibrant opposition, warning that parties risked existing largely in name without sufficient capacity to challenge government policies.
He said such parties might also struggle to offer Nigerians meaningful alternatives, thereby weakening democratic competition and accountability.
The IPAC spokesman regretted that nearly three decades into Nigeria’s democratic dispensation, political parties had yet to establish sufficiently clear ideological identities distinguishing them from one another.
He said political competition should reflect differences in vision, policies, principles and approaches to governance rather than the personal interests and calculations of individual political elites.
Egbeola said democracy suffered when political loyalty became fluid and party affiliations lost significance, adding that the trend raised concerns about Nigeria’s multiparty system.
He warned that continued overlap between opposition figures and the ruling party’s campaign structures could leave Nigeria with multiparty competition in appearance but without a genuinely vibrant opposition. (NAN)
