The Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) has called for public funding of the nation’s registered political parties to deepen democracy and good governance.
The National Chairman of IPAC, Yusuf Dantalle, made the call on Wednesday in Abuja, at the formal unveiling of the ‘IPAC Strategic Action Plan 2024-2028’ on deepening democracy in Nigeria.
The event was organised by IPAC, the Westminister Foundation for Democracy (WFD) under the Nigeria Open Political Party (NOPP) project.
He said that the action plan cover the goals and aspirations of political parties in Nigeria, as it contains actions to be taken to ensure public funding for political parties, among other initiatives.
Dantalle noted that to ensure the inclusion of all political parties, one of the goals set by the council is the restoration of public funding of political parties through the ongoing amendment of the 1999 Constitution.
He noted: “At the end of the constitutional reform committee exercise of the 10th National Assembly, issues related to affirmative action, implementation of Justice Muhammed Uwais electoral reform committee report 2008 and restoration of public funding for registered political parties will be discussed and integrated into the amended constitution.
“It will advocate for the enactment of inclusive electoral laws that guarantee equal opportunities for all political parties to participate in the electoral reform process on issues related to affirmative action, implementation of Justice Muhammed Uwais electoral reform committee report 2008 and restoration of public funding for registered political parties.”
Dantalle said the plan would have a spiral effect in the nation’s democratic space, more importantly, as citizens are facing hard times and disillusioned over economic stagnation, insecurity and lack of confidence in government at all levels.
The Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof. Mahmood Yakubu, represented by a National Commissioner, Pof. Kunle Ajayi, urged the nation’s political parties to reduce tension by toning down negative rhetorics.
“Beyond the primaries, we encourage IPAC to implore its members to tone down the negative rhetoric during campaigns and strongly appeal to their media warlords to shun the weaponisation of disinformation and spreading of fake news, as this tends to rile up religious, political and tribal sentiments, hence heating an already anxious and polarised society in the run-up to an election,” he said.
He also said that political parties should deepen the inclusion of youth, women and persons with disabilities (PWDs) in their activities and to mainstream the Not Too Young Run Act and the Women in Politics Charter of Demands.
He said, “The commission has consistently advocated for an inclusive electoral process backed by section 54 of the Electoral Act and has implemented targeted interventions in partnership with CSOs and its development partners to bridge this gap. However, the onus is on the Political Parties and IPAC to take the lead in advancing the cause of Electoral Inclusivity in their various parties.”