P
PressRoom
Guest
True, opposition should be the people's watchdog keeping the government on its toes and forcing it to follow the right democratic path. Opposition parties are also expected to play the oversight role by ensuring that the actions of government are in the best interest of the people. Role of opposition in a democracy is much more creative and crucial rather than opposition for the sake of opposition. Its main role is to expose weakness in government policies and remain a vigilant watchdog over the action and inaction of the government.
This is not the case in Nigeria, opposition parties are victims of dictates of the incumbent government. They are subjected to all forms of restrictions, that are sometimes not in tandem with the true ethics of the law. Below are some of these challenges.
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1. “Illegal” Arrest And Prosecution: Just as it is the case with Femi Fani-Kayode and some other allegedly corrupt political figures, opposition party members are constantly quizzed over mismanagement of funds, and some other crime-related offences that they could easily have by-passed when in government.
2. Reduced Federal Allocation: Especially with states that do not have representatives at the federal level, they are cut short of federal government benefits accruable. This results in the inabilities of these states to pay its workers, and execute capital projects, hereby depending on their Internally Generated Revenues.
3. Restrictions: Opposition party members in Nigeria continue to be victims of legal and political restrictions designed by the incumbent regimes. For instance, reports had it that the controversial Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party and his Rivers state counterpart, Nyesome Wike have recently been slammed with travel ban by the APC-led Federal Government. This is not healthy in a true democratic process, as the Section 308 of the Constitution that gives the president immunity also provides the governors with same leverage.
Also recently is the freeze of Governor Ayo Fayose's personal bank account by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and as well as the shut down of Ben Bruce's Lagos Galleria by AMCON. Ben Bruce is a Bayelsa-born PDP Senator.
4. Defection of Party Members: Defection of party members is a perennial problem with opposition parties in Nigeria. As soon as a party lose grip of power at any level, members of such party defect to the ruling party. For instance, under the President Goodluck-Jonathan led administration, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the Labour Party, that brought him into power.
5. Leadership Crisis: This is one of the major problems that rock the boat of opposition parties in Nigeria. They tend to be internally-disorganised after losing grip of power, hereby leading to different factions in the same party. For instance, the PDP-Sheriff-Makarfi leadership tussle. It is the first time PDP would be in opposition after 16 years of holding on to federal power. The Peoples Democratic Party can be likened to a house divided against itself, leading to the continuous defection of the party chieftains to the now-ruling party.
6. Paucity of Funds: Opposition parties are always faced with the problem of insufficient funds to execute most of the programmes in a bid to reclaim “lost territories”.
7. Re-Grouping & Re-formation: Except for those with strong alliance to their party, it is always a major challenge for opposition parties in Nigeria to re-group and reform their party. This is because they might have lost the loyalty of members to the incumbent government.
This is not the case in Nigeria, opposition parties are victims of dictates of the incumbent government. They are subjected to all forms of restrictions, that are sometimes not in tandem with the true ethics of the law. Below are some of these challenges.
---
1. “Illegal” Arrest And Prosecution: Just as it is the case with Femi Fani-Kayode and some other allegedly corrupt political figures, opposition party members are constantly quizzed over mismanagement of funds, and some other crime-related offences that they could easily have by-passed when in government.
2. Reduced Federal Allocation: Especially with states that do not have representatives at the federal level, they are cut short of federal government benefits accruable. This results in the inabilities of these states to pay its workers, and execute capital projects, hereby depending on their Internally Generated Revenues.
3. Restrictions: Opposition party members in Nigeria continue to be victims of legal and political restrictions designed by the incumbent regimes. For instance, reports had it that the controversial Ekiti State governor, Ayo Fayose of the Peoples Democratic Party and his Rivers state counterpart, Nyesome Wike have recently been slammed with travel ban by the APC-led Federal Government. This is not healthy in a true democratic process, as the Section 308 of the Constitution that gives the president immunity also provides the governors with same leverage.
Also recently is the freeze of Governor Ayo Fayose's personal bank account by Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, and as well as the shut down of Ben Bruce's Lagos Galleria by AMCON. Ben Bruce is a Bayelsa-born PDP Senator.
4. Defection of Party Members: Defection of party members is a perennial problem with opposition parties in Nigeria. As soon as a party lose grip of power at any level, members of such party defect to the ruling party. For instance, under the President Goodluck-Jonathan led administration, Governor Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State defected to the Peoples Democratic Party from the Labour Party, that brought him into power.
5. Leadership Crisis: This is one of the major problems that rock the boat of opposition parties in Nigeria. They tend to be internally-disorganised after losing grip of power, hereby leading to different factions in the same party. For instance, the PDP-Sheriff-Makarfi leadership tussle. It is the first time PDP would be in opposition after 16 years of holding on to federal power. The Peoples Democratic Party can be likened to a house divided against itself, leading to the continuous defection of the party chieftains to the now-ruling party.
6. Paucity of Funds: Opposition parties are always faced with the problem of insufficient funds to execute most of the programmes in a bid to reclaim “lost territories”.
7. Re-Grouping & Re-formation: Except for those with strong alliance to their party, it is always a major challenge for opposition parties in Nigeria to re-group and reform their party. This is because they might have lost the loyalty of members to the incumbent government.