A group, Guild of Civil Societies and Media Executives for Equity, Justice and Transparency in Nigeria (GOMEJ) has described consensus candidacy as “an error of judgment in political space”
The group said it will be suicidal this time around if both the All Progressives Congress (APC) and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) settle for a consensus candidate at this time in Nigeria’s history without the benefit of articulating a vision of how to get the country out from the abyss and current predicament
In a statement issued in Abuja by its President Omoba Kenneth Aigbegbele, emphasized that political parties are the expression of political pluralism, that contributes to the formation and expression of the will of the people and a fundamental instrument for political participation. Their creation and the exercise of their activities are free and fair in so far as they respect the constitution and the law.
Aigbelegbe said internal structure and operation must be democratic. “Parties should be seen to practise what they preach,and which in turn nurtures political competencies, producing more capable representatives which ensures that the parties produce better policies and political programmes as well as responsible and accountable leaders,” he said.
He maintained that “there’s need to deepen democratic culture in our political parties which makes room for electoral marketplace, free to compete and govern their own internal structures and processes as well as the principle of fair representation which is considered crucial in the relation between voters and the governed.”
Aigbelegbe said, “GOMEJ affirms that internal party democracy must have a set of norms that provide a bottom-up approach to forming a decision in the party and the internal distribution of power at different levels, bodies and individuals encompass the internal rules and procedures that give ordinary members greater influence on issues such as candidate selection, leadership selection and policy platform.
“We, therefore, reiterate that the most engaging internal party democracy are inclusive, participatory, deliberate, responsible and fair distribution of responsibilities and powers.”
Aigbelegbe insists that political parties’ internal rules should be guided by clarity, transparency, accountability and independence.
As parties contribute to the expression of political opinions and are instruments for the presentation of candidates in elections, regulations of internal party activities can be considered necessary to ensure the proper functioning of a democratic society and not consensus excuse or in whatever guise.
“It is against this background, that GOMEJ rejects consensus candidacy in its entirety as Nigerians also say no to consensus candidacy, as it will bring the country back to Golgotha where selected appointees will be in charge of leadership as against competence and capacity to lead,” Aigbelegbe said.
He clarified that “there is a clear need for the leaders of the two prominent parties to jettison this archaic traditions used in the old era of the Roman Empire, so as to move Nigeria forward once and for all. ‘The consensus candidacy is seen as self-serving and serving the interest of a few as against nation building and development, but are seen to perpetuate ethnicity, religion, myopic and nepotistic differences by serving interests of a single ethnic group rather than the interest of the country as a whole and, therefore, should be rejected by well-meaning Nigerians.
“The consensus arrangement is seen as undemocratic, as it allows the imposing of a candidate of a few members on others and also allows for succession from godfathers to sons in a democracy which is anti-democratic in all ramifications.” Accordingly, the group’s president said that consensus candidacy was breeding bad blood amongst party faithful, causing disaffection, serious misgivings, suspicions amongst the leading presidential candidates from both parties and leadership which could in turn split the party, which in itself was very unhealthy for internal party development and growth.
The consensus arrangement would be a total failure; yes agreed, “it is in the electoral act, without adhering to the principles of equity, fairness and justice, it can’t see the light of the day and will fail abruptly and cannot stand the test of time.”
