Yesterday, political parties in Nigeria were at the receiving end of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s tongue lashes, as he accused many of them of having no manifestoes to operate with.
Speaking at a Roundtable Conference on Party Politics in Nigeria and Lobbying the Lobbyist and the Legislature, organised by the National Institute for Legislative Studies, NILS, in Abuja, Obasanjo said
party manifestoes had suddenly become mere instruments for political campaign in Nigeria that were jettisioned soon after elections.
Obasanjo, who decried this practice, queried why political parties or elected officers should not be held accountable to their promises by the public.
He said: “I want to say that there are some areas where political parties need improvement. I am sure and I hope that the discussants and speakers would lay emphasis on these areas. One of them is the issue of manifestoes. What I have come to see and understand in Nigeria is that manifestoes are prepared for campaigns and after wards, they are thrown away.
“How then can we hold parties and their elected leaders to their promises and manifestoes? Or if they have no manifestoes, what do we hold them for?” he asked rhetorically.
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