Senator Arise Says The Parties Are The Problem, And He Is Describing The Cause
Abuja · Monday 7 September 2026
Senator Arise has warned that Nigeria's democracy is at risk without political party reform and better governance. In the same week Donald Duke, now a presidential candidate, said Nigeria is not really in a democracy but a facade.
Two figures inside the system, describing the same failure from different angles.
Why parties are the right place to look
Because in Nigeria the party, not the electorate, makes most of the decisions that matter. By the time a general election arrives, the choice has already been narrowed by primaries, consensus arrangements and nomination fees that most citizens could never pay.
| Decision | Who really makes it |
|---|---|
| Who can stand | Party leadership and fee structure |
| Who wins the primary | Delegates, or a consensus room |
| Who appears on the ballot | The party, via INEC publication |
| Who governs | Voters, from that shortlist |
Three of the four decisions happen before the public is involved.
What reform would actually mean
- Nomination fees capped at a level a professional could plausibly pay.
- Primaries with published, auditable delegate lists, so results can be checked.
- Internal party finance disclosure, which currently barely exists.
- Enforceable penalties for parties that ignore their own constitutions.
None of that requires a constitutional amendment. All of it requires the people who benefit from the current arrangement to vote against their own interest.
The uncomfortable part
Both men are speaking from inside the structure they are criticising. That does not make them wrong. It does mean the reform they describe has no obvious constituency: the parties would have to reform themselves, and the voters who would benefit have no mechanism to compel it.
Which is why this warning gets made, in almost identical words, before every Nigerian election cycle, and why nothing between cycles ever changes.
Reporting: Tribune Online and Naija News.
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