Atiku says APC undemocratic, bullying other parties

Former Vice President and chieftain of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, has said that lack of internal democracy has made the party a bully to other political parties which he described as undemocratic.

The party chieftain publicly chided his party over failure to organize statutory meetings for the organs of the party while addressing a large gathering at the 2nd Inter Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) annual conference yesterday, Tuesday in Abuja.

At the meeting which centered on internal party democracy, the Waziri of Adamawa specifically called on the attention of the APC Deputy National Chairman (North), Shaibu Lawal, who represented the party’s National Chairman, Chief John Odigie-Oyegun, on the high table to take notice of his speech.

Atiku said: “For a number of years now we have had political parties, even governing ones, which hardly hold meetings of their important organs including those meant for the democratic selection of their leadership or even constitute institutions prescribed in their Constitution.

“In the absence of those meetings and elections, their existing leadership, often under the direction of the Executive at the state or federal level, fills the void. That’s not party building but party bullying.

And it’s certainly not a way to democratize parties and aggregate their members’ opinions, interests and aspirations.

“This means that efforts to deepen Nigeria’s democracy must include efforts at democratizing our political parties. The institutionalization of democracy in our internal party processes will help us deepen democracy in Nigeria.

Leaders are more likely to tolerate opposition from citizens and other parties if they tolerate it within their own party.

“The lack of internal democracy in political parties is one of the reasons for the fraught relationships among parties and their elected representatives and the legislature and the executive.

The loyalty of some in the legislature and executive lies not with the party but with a godfather who sponsored them, and the godfather may even be in a rival political party. Such anomalies will reduce if internal democracy flourishes in our political parties and by extension the wider society.

“The selection of leaders in a democracy is a serious business because so many other things ride on it. Whenever we get it wrong the nation or a part thereof suffers. We must strive to get it right most of the time.

And it is the voters who should freely make that determination. I therefore thank the IPAC for organizing this conference and for inviting me to chair it”.

The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Prof. Mahmoud Yakubu, who was the keynote speaker at the event, declared that the electoral umpire under his leadership has recorded major success in the recent time, assuring that the body will not hesitate to register ineffective political party if need be, urging political parties who have right to conduct party primaries to also give women and People Living with disabilities opportunity to stand for election.

Yakubu assured that his leadership will continue to be courageous and always be on the side of Nigerians, saying that the “commission would never err or fail Nigerians; whoever wins at the ballot box would be declared elected”.

While thanking IPAC for organizing the occasion, the INEC chairman urged all political parties to learn how to work together to promote democracy in Nigeria, saying “the commission have been meeting with all political parties to see that democracy is maintained”.

The event’s climax was the presentation of award of excellent to the Bauchi state governor, Barr. Muhammad A. Abubakar for allowing democracy to thrive in the state.

In his response on the award, the governor said the recognition will spur him to do better for the state as he is prepared to serve his people with all humility.

Tom Okpe, Abuja