Human rights lawyer, Femi Falana, SAN, and former House of Representatives member, Usman Bugaje, have indicted Nigeria’s political parties as a major factor stalling the country’s growth 65 years after independence.

Both statesmen spoke during Channels Television’s special broadcast to mark Nigeria’s 65th independence anniversary on Wednesday.

Falana faulted what he described as the “winner-takes-all” mentality of contemporary political parties, contrasting it with practices in the Second Republic.

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“There is no way you can concentrate power in the hands of the ruling party. The ruling party must share power with other constituencies,” Falana said.

“There must be proportional representation. The winner-takes-all system is part of the problems we face currently. Without an ideological base or orientation for political parties, corruption will continue, impunity will continue, and recklessness will continue.”



On his part, Bugaje said Nigeria’s leadership recruitment crisis stems from the absence of ideological direction in political parties.

He described the parties as “empty entities” that offer no real difference, making it easy for politicians to defect frequently.

“I have said it several times: the political parties we have today have neither content nor conscience, they lack courage, and they are not good for anything,” Bugaje said.

“Look at what is happening today—what makes people move from APC to PDP, or from PDP to APC? It is because they are all empty. What really differentiates them?”

The post ‘Empty, No Ideology’: Falana, Bugaje Blame Political Parties For Nigeria’s Woes appeared first on Channels Television.