Chief Nduese Essien, a People’s Democratic Party chief in Akwa Ibom State and a former minister of Lands, Housing, and Urban Development, has expressed concern that the nation’s main political parties are in danger of collapsing.
He claimed that the current state of political parties is a far cry from the circumstances that existed in 1999, when elections were won on the basis of merit while the military oversaw them and permitted systems of rules and regulations to function, as opposed to the current state, where parties no longer adhere to their principles but instead operate on the whims and caprices of their newly emerging owners.
When Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, a former chieftain of the All Progressives Congress and the New Nigeria People’s Party’s candidate for governor in 2023, visited the Akwa Ibom state town of Eket to solicit his support, Essien expressed his concern.
Essien, a former member of the House of Representatives, referred to the current system, in which each party now has an owner who determines who does what, as unfortunate and emphasized that the nation could not continue in that manner.
He said, “Let me use this opportunity to alert all of us that the major political parties are on the verge of collapse throughout the country. The gradual persistent erosion of political cultures in the parties since 2003 has led them to the situation they have found themselves today.
“Parties no longer abide by their principles, rules and regulations but have been allowed to operate on the whims and caprices of the emergent owners. The organs of authority, direction and coordination have become extinct.
“This is responsible for the multifarious harvest of court cases after each primary election and the calamities which often befall these parties. Political parties were not run the way they were now in 1999 when we came out to contest elections. Whoever won elections then won it on merit.
“But from 2003, few people will just sit somewhere, write names and announce. Indiscipline, disorder and outright impunity have a terminal point. This terminal point has been reached by major parties, thus enabling the small parties without structures to cause them a stir and the current panic for relevance and positions.
“There is a revolution in the offing-a spontaneous protest against the numerous wrong ways of doing things. The current situation is a call to return to the basics, and the time is now. The big parties may have to give way in 2023 for a restart of our democratic experience.”
He praised senator Akpanudoedehe for exemplifying how political parties should be run by approaching stakeholders who do not support his party and informing them of his intention to run for governor of the State in 2023.
“This is good politics and the correct way to play it,” he said, wishing that other contenders will follow suit. Politics should not be conducted on rigorously segregated platforms where members cannot join or leave.
“Once a nomination has been won within the party, the candidates are free to canvass for support across the board because if elected, you will become the Governor of the entire state and not of the political party. I commend your determination and persistence in being governor of the state since 2011.
“As a politician with a sound intellectual base, you are eminently qualified to be Governor. However, at a stage, you should consider stepping aside to be a kingmaker, playing advisory role which is most needed in the fast deteriorating democratic practice base on party politics.”
The former minister, Atta of Ekid, listed a number of unmet needs that the people of Eket should expect the state’s next administration to address. These needs include creating the Akwa Ibom Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission, redefinition of local government area boundaries, the construction of Qua River Hotels in Eket, and the creation of a low-density housing estate that is appropriate.
Senator John Akpanudoedehe, a candidate for governor, had earlier stated that he joined the NNPP platform in order to carry out his plans for Akwa Ibom. He also said that Chief Essien’s importance to Akwa Ibom politics and status as the senator representing the Eket Senatorial district led him to make the visit.
He appealed to Chief Essien to back him in order to win in Eket and promised that the Akwa Ibom Oil Mineral Producing Areas Development Commission will be constituted right away if elected.
“The PDP government has not been fair to Eket. There are a lot of votes in Eket. Vote for me, and I will complete all projects that Udom will abandon in Eket. I will empower our people to develop themselves so that we can build a peaceful state. You cannot be talking about maintaining peace when people are hungry,” he said.
