Interested parties have reiterated the urgent need to strengthen democratic institutions at the state and local government level, emphasizing the importance of inclusive governance and responsibility.
This call was made at the Subnational Conference on the Strengthening of Democracy held in the state of Kano, a monitoring of the national initiative in Abuja with the issue: Strengthening of Nigeria's democracy: roads towards good governance and political integrity.
The conference, organized through a strategic association between the Center for Defense and Advancement of Pesation in Africa (PAACA) Center for Leadership, Strategy and Development of the Center), Center for Democracy and Development (CDD), and the Westminster Foundation for Democracy (WFD) gather diverse interested parties of the Academy, political parties, civil society organizations, traditional society organizations, traditional leaders and governance to the experts of Democratic and progress of democratic democratic and cause to democratic.
In his welcome speech, the Strategy Director at the African Center for Leadership, Strategy and Development (Center LSD), Itia Otabor requested the strengthening of institutions that protect democratic practices and reforms in the Nigeria political parties system.
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Otabor expressed concern about weak institutions, the poor internal structures of the parties and the lack of ideological consistency among political parties, arguing that without strong democratic institutions and well -structured parties, Nigeria's democracy would continue to be unstable.
He said that “for democracy to prosper, institutions such as the Judiciary, electoral agencies and anti -corruption agencies must be strengthened to function independently and effectively.
“Similarly, political parties must operate with clear ideologies instead of being mere platforms for power struggles.”
He highlighted the frequent internal crises within the parties, which often leads to defections and electoral instability.
“Many parties in Nigeria lack strong internal democratic structures. The processes of selection of candidates are defective, and the discipline of the party is weak.
“If we must strengthen democracy, our parties must be well organized and ideologically driven,” he added.
The main speaker, Abdullahi Sule, in his speech, said that the main challenges in Nigeria's democracy include citizens without companies, weak institutions and lack of internal internal democracy in political parties, among others.
He stressed that without strong democratic structures at the state and local level of the local government, national democratic progress would remain fragile.
Sule, who is the Director of the Association of Youth and Environmental Development (YEDA), requested better governance transparency, a stronger legislative supervision and mechanisms to improve public responsibility at all levels.
He emphasized the need for the Judicial Service Commission and the Commission of Legislative Services, both at the federal and state level, are autonomous, especially appointments and financing.
He also proposed that the local government elections be held by the INEC instead of SIEC, and added that the joint accounts between the state and local government will be abolished.
In addition, he requested regular consultations in constituency meetings at the community level and urged more investments in voting education, citizens' rights, duties and responsibilities.
Sule also identified the financing limitations and executive influence as a challenge with the elections in Nigeria and insisted that granting the complete financial and operational independence of INEC would improve public confidence in the electoral process.
He said: “The INEC must have total control over its budget, appointments and decision -making processes without external influence.”
In his comments, the guest speaker, a defender of social justice, Professor Rabia Salihu Sa'id, from the University of Bayero, Kano said that Nigeria's democracy is truly participatory and responsible, the need for the internal democracy of the party must be reformed.
He also said that the participation of voters must be encouraged, and that the supervision functions led by citizens must be strengthened.
These elements are interconnected and crucial to build a more transparent, inclusive and democratic Nigeria.
He highlighted the challenges to the internal democracy of the party to include the weak regulatory application by INEC, the influence of political godparents and elite domain, the lack of internal conflict resolution mechanisms and the imitated participation of women, youth and the marginalized group.
Meanwhile, a statement published at the end of the conference that had several panel sessions highlighted the challenges facing democracy at the subnational level, including weak institutions, the lack of internal democracy between political parties, the lack of political inclusion and limited citizen participation in decision -making processes.
Therefore, the statement recommended that the Executive, the Judiciary, the Legislature, the traditional leaders, the INEC, the civil society organizations (CSO) and the media fortify the democratic foundations, the participation of the citizens to promote and create it paths for credible and inclusive leadership.
Nigerian tribe