The Director of the Abuja School of Social and Political Thoughts, Sam Amadi, has said Nigeria is witnessing its worst phase of party organisational politics.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Amadi stated this on Sunday during a live interview on Arise Television, where he reacted to the conduct of primary elections by political parties ahead of the next general elections.
He said the level of confusion, internal disputes and uncertainty surrounding the current primary season was worse than what the country experienced before the 2023 elections.
Amadi said that although the 2023 primaries were also marked by crises, the current situation had become more troubling because of the lack of clarity within major political parties.
He said, “This is the worst we have had in party organisational politics in Nigeria. In 2023, we had crises here and there, but it wasn’t at this level.”
According to him, political parties went into the 2023 elections with clearer identities and structures, unlike the current situation, where several parties are battling internal confusion.
He added, “We went into the primaries with clarity. PDP was PDP, APC was APC, we didn’t have the confusion we have now.”
The policy analyst also commented on the increasing adoption of direct primaries by political parties.
He said the development could be viewed from two angles, noting that, despite the many flaws in the process, the fact that parties were still conducting primaries showed that some form of democratic procedure remained in place.
Amadi said, “The second issue we have now is the transition to direct primaries. There are two ways to look at it. We are making progress. No matter how damaged these processes are, at least there’s a process.”
He, however, suggested that the quality of party organisation remained a major concern as Nigeria prepares for the next round of general elections.
PrimeTimes Nigeria reports that Amadi’s comments come amid growing public scrutiny of party primaries across the country, with several parties facing complaints over internal democracy, factional disputes, consensus arrangements and the role of party leadership in candidate selection.
He noted that the process of choosing candidates remains central to the credibility of elections because political parties serve as the main vehicle through which Nigerians participate in democratic contests.
The former Chairman of the Nigerian Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC) has consistently argued that weak internal democracy contributes to poor governance outcomes.
Amadi said the present political situation showed the need for political parties to build clearer structures, obey their own rules and improve the credibility of their nomination processes.
He maintained that while direct primaries may appear more participatory, they must be managed transparently to avoid becoming another source of dispute.
According to him, the current crisis in party organisation should concern citizens, election managers and political actors because the quality of candidates produced by parties will eventually shape the quality of governance.
He said Nigeria’s democracy would remain fragile if political parties continue to enter elections with confusion, weak structures and unresolved internal disputes.