PARTY SYSTEM, INTERNAL CRISIS AND GOVERNANCE IN NIGERIA

Abstract

Internal party conflict is a recurring phenomenon in multiparty democracies. This phenomenon is centered on the struggle for power and control, which all party governments and non-party governments coveted. This has led to party disorganization, fractionalization, and the movement of party members to other political parties, thereby leading to the proliferation of more political parties by some party founders and chieftains in order to realize their political ambitions, despite the enormous resources and sacrifices they made on the old party platforms. The paper argues that internal conflicts have affected party organizations cum members with several consequences on democracy and delivery of democratic governance because the party governments have concentrated their attention on the crises in their political parties, as opposed to the provision of public utilities such as infrastructure, healthcare system, security, goods, and social services. The effect of internal crises made the ruling political parties, nationally and state-wise, contribute largely to poor governance in the country. The paper concludes that the internal conflicts in party system in Nigeria can be eliminated if the party organizations adhere to extant laws and believe in the sanctity of democracy that a loser in an electoral contest can actually become a winner someday as well as to concentrate on the provision of democratic dividends for the people of Nigeria.