BY UMAR YUSUF

Ahead of the 2019 general elections, a Non-governmental organisation, the International Republican Institute (IPI), supported by he United States Aid Development Agency, USAID has observed that all the political party manifestos used by   all the political parties   in Nigeria since the inception of democracy are undemocratic.

Resident Program Officer of the institute in Nigeria, Husna Hassan made the observation in Yola, at a workshop on citizen engagement   and communication for officials of Adamawa state chapter of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) , the All Progressive Congress, APC and the Civil Society Organisations, CSOS .

“As far back as 1959 when   parties politics was formed in Nigeria prelude to the   country’s independence, all the   political party manifestos developed were undemocratic because they were put together without the involvement of the ordinary members of the political parties”she stated.

“Only the few elites within the parties sit down some where to draft the manifestos of their parties to the detriment of ordinary members of the party, the Resident Program Officer insisted.

According to her,”The story has remained the same since the second republic till tomorrow and it is not helping   the improvement of democratic system in Nigeria.”

Husna Hassan expressed regret that the administration of political parties in Nigeria has been left in the hands of the elites to the detriment of the ordinary card carrying members of the parties.

In a paper titled”Adamawa PDP and APC   Citizens Engagement and Communication” the senior program officer of the institute Mr Sunday Alao stressed that the role of opposition is critical to the success of democracy.

He stated that if there is no opposition in a democratic system,the government will emerge as a military set up and urged members of the PDP to maintain strong opposition in the present political set up.