National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Ambassador Sly Ezeokenwa, has raised concerns that certain provisions of the 2022 Electoral Act, particularly Section 77, threaten the autonomy of political parties and could stifle internal democracy.
Speaking in an interview with ARISE News on Thursday, Ezeokenwa argued that while some innovations in the Act are beneficial, others create unnecessary barriers for political parties and their members.
“For me, Nigerians have been clamouring for what I may call some amendment or overhaul of the Electoral Act to serve the yearnings of Nigeria in terms of entrenching a system or culture of a credible and transparent election. That’s what everybody yearns for. At least a process where you know that the people’s votes must count,” Ezeokenwa said.
He noted that APGA supports some of the Act’s provisions, such as the introduction of direct primaries and the digital registration of party members—innovations the party itself had championed.
“When we came on board at this current National Working Committee of APGA, under the leadership of our national leader, Professor Charles Chukwu Masoludu, one of the innovations that APGA championed, incidentally, that has become a subject of debate in this current dispensation, is the introduction of direct primaries.
“Some persons have felt, no, direct primaries shouldn’t be. You should allow the old regime where you choose between direct, indirect, or even the consensus mode. But we feel that the indirect mode of primaries was unnecessarily expensive,” he explained.
Ezeokenwa also recalled that APGA had launched a digital platform for registration of members on June 1, 2024, long before it became mandatory under the Act.
However, he criticised the Act for restricting the way parties can use their registers.
“If you read from subsection 4 to 7 of Section 77, the problem is clear. It requires parties to submit a register 21 days before any primaries and stipulates that only those whose names are contained in that register can vote or be voted for.
“That means if a new member joins our party after submission, they are effectively barred from participating. This is a direct violation of the freedom of association guaranteed under the Constitution,” he said.
He emphasised that this provision could disadvantage smaller parties. “Political parties must have some sort of leverage. Now, what this Electoral Act will do is that it’s going to kill the weaker parties.
“Because it makes certain mandatory requirements… So it means you are putting a barrier of admission of members. A matter that should strictly be the internal affair or regulation of a party. That’s where I have problems,” Ezeokenwa added.
While acknowledging that some provisions of the Act, such as digital registration and direct primaries, strengthen party democracy, he called for selective amendments to Section 77.
“To understand what I mean by expunging, it is not all provisions. I’m coming from subsection 4 onwards… It first requires you to submit this register 21 days before the conduct of primaries and stipulates that it is only those whose names are contained in that register that can vote and be voted for,” he said.
Ezeokenwa also addressed misconceptions around the electronic transmission of results. “People do not understand what INEC means by the terminology ‘transmission of results.’ If you have a conversation with the ICT of INEC, they will tell you the IREF, where preliminary results are transmitted, is a viewing platform. It’s not a coalition portal.
“Electronic transmission means at the end of election at the polling unit, the presiding officer, after announcing the results, uses the BIVAS machine to scan the result and send it to the IREF. That result in the IREF is so that you and I can view it in real time,” he explained.
On accusations that the Act gives advantages to the ruling party, Ezeokenwa clarified: “That law was not made by APC. It was made by the National Assembly.
“The fact remains that if the National Assembly passes a law, it becomes an Act of the National Assembly binding on all Nigerians. Yes, the National Assembly is populated by APC legislators, but once the president assents, it is binding on all citizens.”
He concluded by stressing the importance of ideology in party membership. “Membership of a political party ought to be ideological. You are a member because the party’s ideology aligns with your political beliefs. But in Nigeria today, political parties are largely seen as vehicles for ascension to power,” Ezeokenwa said, underscoring the need to protect internal party democracy.
Boluwatife Enome
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