Conducting all elections same day will reduce crisis- Dantalle, IPAC chair

Chairman of Inter-Party Advisory Council (IPAC), Yusuf Dantalle, says elections in Nigeria should be conducted in one day to pave the way for a seamless process, stressing that elections conducted in states are mere coronation of stooges by the governors. In this Interview monitored by David Lawani on Channels TV’s ‘Political Paradigm’, Dantalle, who is also the National Chairman of the Allied People’s Movement (APM), proffered solutions to the issue of staggered elections, which he said is responsible for a plethora of cases and litigation
Why has IPAC become so unpopular, and what have been your activities in recent times?
The IPAC was operated like an opposition body against the ruling party, but unfortunately, it is not so. IPAC is like a mother to all the other parties. We do purely advisory talk within, rather than coming out to throw tantrums at the ruling party. We don’t have opposition in IPAC, but that doesn’t stop you from doing your opposition and your activities in your political party. That is one of the significant things I have clarified among our member political parties. That is no, you cannot do opposition within the IPAC. We advise and talk inside. But when you want to come out, yes, my party can come out to oppose, but as an individual, I cannot do that or come out to oppose any political party because I am driving the affairs of the party. It is an aberration.
How have you reconciled all parties and brought them together under IPAC?
We never have problems in the IPAC. It is only one man. It is not even a member of the party. Up till now, they have been with us. The man who is the chairman is somebody I respect so much. He is an elder and the national chairman of a political party that refused to concede defeat in an election among 18 political parties. That is ridiculous. Of course, we are not all the same. We don’t think alike. That one went on for a long time, and it didn’t take us three weeks to resolve that.
Is he on your side now or still aggrieved?
We went to court, and the court threw the matter out. There is no programme that we have had in which the ADP is not represented. As the chairman, I have had no problem with any political party. We have no problem with any leadership. As far as IPAC is concerned, all the parties are with us and happy with everything we do.
What are the advisory roles that IPAC plays, and what are their impacts?
When you look at these things, you must begin looking at the foundation. And these are some of the problems we have been addressing quietly without making noise. All we want is for all the issues to be resolved. In the past, IPAC never had a constitution. We have been operating with a code of conduct which is not strong. When we interact with the learned people, we are made to understand that, for IPAC to be stronger than what it is and for it to be able to weigh some strength, we should be able to develop a constitution. Luckily for us, and with the support of the Westminster Foundation for Democracy, we have put up a constitution that all the parties have endorsed except the ADP, which didn’t endorse even though they were present. The 18 other political parties and all of us are on this. And very soon, and by the time we are fully ready, we will invite all media platforms to cover it. That is one. Second, looking at the ideals of IPAC, we have been able to do a lot. You know, IPAC recently, when we came on board, one of the first things we did was have a round table and the judiciary’s role in deepening democracy. We brought in stakeholders who at least came out to speak, and then a communique was issued to the appropriate authorities. From there, you will know what IPAC is doing, too. We increased the number of women participating, as well as people with disabilities and youth, as an underrepresented group in the political space. Constitutionally, we are working with the National Assembly and engaging with the joint committee on NASS. We recently engaged with the House of Representatives and are doing a lot. When I came on board, we established three directorates of Women Affairs, Directorate for Youth Affairs, and the Directorate of People with disabilities. Recently, we also had the Directorate of Women Affairs under Hajia Zainab Ibrahim, the Deputy National Women leader in the APC, a programme sponsored by the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies. When we have legislation that empowers us to do something, we will do it. The process of amendment to our constitutional and electoral act is ongoing. So we have put in many things and recommendations that I want the public to know about.
What sort of legislation will be needed?
First, you cannot have competition when you don’t have the basis for it. You might not be able to compete if you don’t have sufficient strength or close equal strength. So what do I mean? In the past, when political parties were being funded, the party belonged to nobody. Ideally, that is what it is supposed to be. But today, you will see one individual drive political parties directly. The reason is simple- because such an individual has funded such a political party or because it is a name. Let me use a few political parties as an example. For instance, the APC as it is today, see some major individuals who came together to wrestle power from the PDP. These are people who have resources with some sitting governors. They have access to public resources. You have a situation where political parties campaign with public aircraft and vehicles, which is fine. Some political parties are at a disadvantage because they cannot match their competitors with equal or close resources. So, you should restore funds to political parties, but under the prudent management or supervision of INEC. As in the past, the Federal Government should fund political parties. It is one of the recommendations. There should be one individual who can drive the party for all these parties you see. We know where NNPP was before Kwankwaso came. All or some of these things are visible. So why is it supposed to be so? A party is supposed to be driven by all.
Do you think Peter Obi and Kwankwaso are funding their political parties?
Who is Kwankwaso in the first place? A former governor and minister of the Federal Republic of Nigeria. Who is Peter Obi? A former governor. They have more financial chest than you, me, and others. It is difficult for political parties to be driven by ideology; rather, it is open to whoever comes and can move the party forward financially and otherwise. We must be sincere about some of these things. Let us not dwell on some of these things. Funding is one of the things that we look at and recommend, and it is the conduct of an election in one day. When you stagger elections, the implications are that you will shut down both commercial and academic activities, and so many others. But when you conduct this thing in one day, everybody and all the contestants, plus the candidates, will focus on their elections. It will reduce the crisis. It is one of our recommendations. There are many recommendations, but another thing is to look at the minimum qualifications for people seeking political office in Nigeria. As an SSCE holder, the man will go and make laws and drive the affairs by creating policies. But if you see the results for professors, you will know where we are. For me and us, it is an anachronism. We should be able to balance this. I am not saying that he is not intelligent because someone doesn’t have a Western education. But then, if that applies to our other institutions, we should be able to synchronise it with leadership in Nigeria. We still have more of the recommendations.
A bill to establish a commission to regulate the activities of political parties is currently with the NASS. Do you think that is a good bill?
It is still part of our recommendations that INEC is overwhelmed with something. One is registered voter, constituency delineation, and prosecution of offenders. That is INEC conducting an election for all the posts. INEC conducts federal elections, if you look at it with common sense, how state elections are under the state House of Assembly. They are not federal elections. INEC conduct it. And so many other things that INEC does. Some of our recommendations are that you take some, that is, give INEC some task, we might not have a perfect opposition. But look at elections being conducted at the state level; for instance, you will agree that no election in Nigeria is comparable to that conducted by INEC. Other state elections are more coronations by the governors in power; nobody is exempted. Even though we had a few cases, they were almost the same. We also recommended that you swear in the winner if a winner emerges after an election. Still, the man who has reservations about the election is approaching the tribunals. The courts would have been disadvantaged with a man in power, either a governor or a president, and the state apparatus at his disposal over the other person. We recommended determining all litigation emanating from elections before swearing in the winner. Because there are situations too that you swear in, a candidate, and you go to court, and at the end of the day, you could say otherwise. And you begin to conduct fresh elections. Using public funds that you don’t have. Or is scarce. The condition in this country today is for us to look at solutions to some of the problems.
How is it possible to conclude all litigations before swearing in? Some are suggesting that all election disputes should end at the tribunal. What are your take on all of this?
If we are able to set tangibles for the elections, ensure that they are conducted, and also set a time for terminating litigation emanating from such elections, it is possible. You can say it is difficult.
Should elections not be taken up to the Supreme Court?
Our recommendations have addressed most of the issues that arise during elections. But we have more primary elections, which are supposed to be conducted by the parties sponsoring the candidates themselves. We have to begin to look at this closely. We have recommendations that will sanitise beyond where we are in the process of primary elections. Primary elections should be more important than general elections.
Or perhaps we have too many political parties, don’t we?
Do we? We don’t have.
Some people believe that the reason we cannot have an election in one day is that there are too many political parties. Do you subscribe to this?
This has nothing to do with political parties, just 19. We had 93 in the past, and today we have just 19. So, why would a population that is over 300 million as a Nigerians and we have not conducted a verifiable census to know our population- that is another thing that Nigeria needs to do to know what we are, so that the Ministry of Budget and planning will know precisely the population that they are planning for.
Do you subscribe to the de-registration of political parties?
We have to be fair to the system. We make laws at times that will favour us in that period. Yesterday, we had some leaders in the National Assembly in executive positions, they saw this thing, but because it was not lucrative to them or not what they wanted, they just allowed it to go. But today, the same people are in opposition, trying to come together to see how they can bring something new. So, it is like that. If you are in power and you feel what you want to do doesn’t serve your purpose tomorrow, you won’t be there. It is a norm. It has been like that. So, how can you tell me this party is not competing well? The environment for this competition is empty. How do I compete? My party doesn’t have any executive positions. There is no fund. Or support from the government’s media. We can say it, but it is not easy. Looking at the economic situation of Nigerians, how many Nigerians would you ask to come and donate money? We saw that happen only during former President Buhari’s time.
But do people donate money to the Labour Party?
Who are these people who donated money? It is not just about membership. Some have 5000, 1000, 500, or even the highest, 5000, memberships. We have tried it, but it has never worked. We are saying that the party that didn’t perform should be deregistered and given an enabling environment.
What is an enabling environment?
Funding is significant. You know how it is to win an election in Nigeria today. From purchasing forms, conducting primaries, and trying to get your supporters who have registered amidst political parties’ meetings. You bring people, and you will need to transport and feed them. And a few other things. Like yesterday, there was a meeting of the PDP. It was easier because you have governors and past governors. It was an easy meeting at the governor’s house. It is easier to use the paraphernalia of the office that people occupy. It is not easy, but at least with a bit of support.
Where do we draw the nexus for political parties to draw from the federal purse? What are the criteria for funding political parties?
Whatever problem we have in Nigeria today is institutional. I commend INEC sincerely. What INEC does is a lot that we need to sanitise the system. INEC oversees and audits accounts of political parties. Last month, the INEC developed a portal to monitor the finances of political parties online, which is difficult, and most political parties might not like that. However, it is a welcome development to monitor the finances of political parties. Today, it is easy to track the movements of funds. During those periods, it was not easy to track funds. You have agencies like the EFCC and others monitoring funds. We are in a computer age where it will not be easy for anybody to convert public funds into their own. If you give them, they should be able to monitor, which is what we are saying. You might not provide the funds, but provide some of these enabling environments without necessarily giving cash. No!
What are your thoughts on the back and forth between Prof Pat Utomi and the Federal Government?
I didn’t follow it, and I do not know what he meant by shadow government. When you use the word government, it means that you have the authority to do something, and you cannot have a government that the people vote for; then you have another government put together, and you call it a shadow government. Opposition is a very healthy thing in our democracy, and I urged the government to welcome opposition as long as the opposition is constructive in its criticism. It is even better for them to welcome them so they can assist with their view that the government should not go off track. Not where you have a name shadow government. For me, it is not a welcome development. The literary meaning of government is to have authority to execute. They should look at the name and maybe use something else. If it is a pressure group where you can use the law to hold the government accountable, fine, but not to say you are forming a shadow government.
He said he would belong to an opposition group where he and others would examine a sector and dialogue about it. This seems harmless. Do you think these should make the government worried?
Not at all. This is a welcome development. No one has and knows it all. Prof Pat Utomi is a well-respected Nigerian. He has done so well trying to contribute to the betterment of this country. I respect him and hold him in high esteem. Honestly, it is good, and he is not known for being dysfunctional to the existence of the Nigerian state. What I said earlier is in the name. If there is a way it can be rephrased objectively, there is nothing wrong with it. But you can still do it under the political party platform or in civil society.