Parties Parallel Primaries and Its Implication to Political Development in Nigeria

Structurally, political parties in the country are weak and this has always led to lack of internal cohesion. Most political parties operate outside the purview of their constitutional guides. The lack of internal democracy in the political parties is therefore, not only worrisome but has become highly problematic with rising incidences of political parties’ parallel primaries. The recent primaries conducted by the various political parties have only shown that the culture of inclusive democracy is still miles away from the nation’s political space, which might take some time for Nigeria to catch up with the reality of representative governance. The primaries for nomination of candidates for the various political offices in preparation for the general elections from 2003 to 2015 may have come and gone, but the angst generated by the outcome of the primaries has continued to attract opprobrium. The effects of this malaise have threatened the very foundations of the Nigerian state and have slowed the pace of democratic consolidation and political development in the country. How then can we build democracy without democrats? Cries of candidate’s imposition, parallel congresses, undemocratic conducts and mass protest have greeted the outcome of the so-called primaries across the states of the federation. The disagreement and anger generated by the undemocratic conduct associated with the primaries have culminated in threat of mass defection from some political parties. This paper sought to investigate political parties’ parallel primaries in the context of Nigeria fourth republic with a view to ascertaining it implication to political development and proffering way forward. Key words: political party, parallel primaries, political development, candidate selection, internal democracy