Party politics now investment venture for the rich – Rep Speaker

Speaker of the House of Representatives Abbas Tajudeen has said political party financing in Nigeria has largely been taken over by businessmen and politicians who view it as an investment.

Mr Tajudeen noted that businessmen’s huge investments in Nigerian party politics made them hijack party structures and even impose candidates on the parties during elections.

He said this on Monday while addressing participants at a technical workshop in Abuja on “A Bill to Establish an Independent Authority to Register, Regulate, and Fund Political Parties in Nigeria.

The speaker was represented by Ishaya David, the lawmaker representing the Bokkos/Mangu federal constituency of Plateau State on the platform of the All Progressives Congress (APC).

He argued that democracy cannot flourish when the internal party’s democracy is subverted by money. He also called for urgent reforms to separate political processes from the grip of wealthy sponsors.

“In some instances, political party funding in Nigeria is taken over by wealthy individuals as investments. Those who make the investments, either as businessmen or politicians, hijack the political parties or impose candidates on the parties during the electoral process. There cannot be a democracy where there is no internal democratic process through which candidates for election emerge at the level of the political parties,” he said.

Nigeria’s 2023 general elections showed how business people and some wealthy individuals fund party politics.

There were instances where business people across key sectors like oil and gas, telecommunications, and construction openly aligned with candidates. However, other presidential candidates also enjoyed support from wealthy sponsors.

In April 2022, a support group called Members of the Tinubu Support Group (TSG) purchased the presidential nomination form for Mr Tinubu for N100 million.

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Similarly, in March 2022, the North East Business Forum bought an N40 million nomination form for Atiku Abubakar under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). There were reports of similar financial backing for Peter Obi before he defected to the Labour Party.

Beyond presidential candidates, gubernatorial candidates also benefited from financial sponsorship, with groups purchasing multimillion-naira nomination forms on their behalf.

Observers argued that these sponsors expected rewards in government contracts, appointments to key parastatals, and influence over major policymaking sectors such as infrastructure, oil, and the digital economy.

Party politics must serve the people, not the rich

Speaker Tajudeen warned that democracy cannot thrive without internal democracy within political parties, where candidates emerge through fair and credible processes, not through the influence of wealthy individuals.

“We must find ways to make party politics serve the purpose of politics, not wealth creation for its managers. Like Socrates, the Greek Philosopher, said, an unexamined life is not worth living. It, therefore, follows that as we review our party registration and regulation processes, we must also be able to fashion the new logic that supports whatever decision we must take in advancing the bill for an act to provide for the establishment of an independent authority for the registration, regulation and funding of political parties in Nigeria.

“In this process, we must gauge the views of the people of Nigeria and use our positions in the parliament to amplify their voices. I do not doubt that many Nigerians will be appreciative of this law. However, we must be able to balance sentiments and logic. This will guide us towards making the best decision for our country, which we all believe must transition from complete governmental control and regulation to independent regulation,” he said.

The proposed bill

The proposed bill seeks to create an independent authority separate from the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) that will oversee political parties’ registration, regulation, and funding. It aims to ensure transparency and curb the influence of moneybags in Nigerian politics.

The technical workshop was organised by YIAGA Africa and the Kukah Centre, with support from the European Union. The gathering brought together lawmakers, policymakers, and civil society representatives to chart a new course for political party governance.

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In his address, the Executive Director of Yiaga Africa, Samson Itodo, emphasised the need to reform Nigeria’s political party funding system.

He said Nigeria’s political parties have long been weakened by their dependence on wealthy sponsors rather than strong institutional ideologies.

“The process of selecting those leaders, the process of selecting people who lead within political parties, is critically important for democracy. But unfortunately within our context, we’ve had a situation where we have weak party systems. Some argue that most of our political parties do not have an ideological basis. Some have also argued that political parties are led by the moneybags. It’s about the highest bidder and the highest spender. That our parties are so weak that they are built around individuals and not built around institutions.

“And that’s why parties are easily captured, as we experience in different parts of the country, but evidence also shows that citizens don’t trust political parties. And that political parties represent interests that sometimes are at variance with the interests of the people. And it is for this reason that about 17 years ago, the whole discussion about party reform started,” Mr Itodo.