21st May 2026, NewsOrient, Opinion, Column, Politics, Governance And Development, Law And Society, News
By Udeochu John Ukaukwu

Political party primaries are meant to represent the soul of democracy. They are designed to give party faithful the opportunity to choose candidates through transparent and competitive processes.

In principle, party primaries should produce the best hands, the most popular aspirants, and individuals with genuine grassroots acceptance.

But in today’s Nigeria, particularly within the All Progressives Congress (APC), party primaries have increasingly become nothing more than carefully scripted political theatre, a joke dressed in democratic clothing.

Recent political developments in Rivers, Delta, Abia, and Kaduna States have once again exposed the frightening collapse of internal democracy within political parties.

What Nigerians continue to witness are not primaries in the real sense of the word, but orchestrated coronations supervised by political power brokers who determine outcomes long before delegates gather in convention grounds.

In Rivers State, the political crisis that engulfed the state revealed how party supremacy, loyalty battles, and personal interests can completely overshadow democratic principles. The bitter struggle between political camps exposed the dangerous reality that in Nigerian politics, structures controlled by influential figures often matter more than the wishes of ordinary party members.

Primaries and internal decisions became tools for political warfare rather than instruments of democracy.

In Delta State, the atmosphere surrounding political alignments and the movement of influential stakeholders further highlighted how ideology has almost disappeared from Nigerian party politics.

Politicians switch camps not necessarily because of policy differences or convictions, but because of access to power and electoral advantage. Under such conditions, party primaries become mere formalities designed to validate elite agreements already reached behind closed doors.

The situation in Kaduna State equally demonstrated the widening disconnect between party leadership and grassroots members. Internal grievances, allegations of marginalization,and power tussles have consistently threatened party unity.

Aspirants who believe in fair contests often discover that loyalty to certain political blocs matters more than popularity among delegates or acceptance by the people.

Even in Abia State, where opposition politics continues to evolve rapidly, the recurring tensions around party structures and candidate emergence reflect a broader national problem: political parties have become private empires controlled by a few influential individuals. Delegates are manipulated, consensus candidates are imposed overnight, and primary elections frequently end in controversy and litigation.

The disturbing pattern is now familiar to Nigerians.
Aspirants spend millions consulting stakeholders, mobilizing supporters, and campaigning across wards and local governments, only to discover that candidates had already been selected in secret meetings.

Delegates often arrive at venues merely to endorse predetermined outcomes. Results are sometimes announced before accreditation is completed. In extreme cases, parallel primaries emerge, producing multiple candidates from the same party.

This mockery of internal democracy carries grave consequences for the nation, when candidates emerge through imposition rather than credibility, competence suffers. Public office becomes a reward for political loyalty instead of capacity and vision.

Leaders produced through manipulated systems naturally become more accountable to political godfathers than to citizens.

Sadly, the APC, which once presented itself to Nigerians as a progressive alternative committed to institutional reforms and democratic advancement, now faces growing accusations of entrenching the same political culture it once condemned.

The promise of change has gradually given way to familiar patterns of impunity, exclusion, and elite domination.

Yet, the problem goes beyond one political party.
Most political parties in Nigeria now operate with weak ideological foundations. Internal democracy exists largely in speeches and party constitutions but disappears in practical reality. Primaries have become transactional exercises where influence, money, and political connections determine outcomes more than the will of party members.

This trend is dangerous for Nigeria’s democracy.
Young Nigerians with fresh ideas become discouraged from political participation because the system appears permanently rigged against merit.

Faith in democratic institutions weakens when citizens repeatedly observe manipulated processes.

Courtrooms increasingly replace party conventions as the true arenas where candidates emerge.

Even worse, politicians continue to preach democracy publicly while undermining it privately. They call for unity after conducting divisive and unfair primaries. They demand loyalty from aggrieved aspirants after denying them fair participation. They celebrate consensus while suppressing competition.

Democracy cannot thrive under such contradictions.
If Nigeria’s political class genuinely desires progress, then political parties must return to the true essence of party primaries. Delegates’ votes must count. Party constitutions must be respected. Internal processes must be transparent. Political parties must stop treating members as spectators while a handful of powerful individuals decide outcomes in secrecy, the greatest danger is not merely the manipulation itself.
The greatest danger is that Nigerians are gradually normalizing electoral injustice within political parties, accepting political imposition as if it were a natural part of democracy.
But democracy built on manipulated foundations can never produce accountable leadership.

Until parties, especially dominant parties like the APC, embrace genuine internal democracy, party primaries in Nigeria will remain exactly what many citizens now see them as, a national joke performed season after season under the disguise of democratic practice.

~ Published By NewsOrient Network

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