Ekweremadu explains why government stops subvention to political parties
The Deputy President of the Senate, Ike Ekweremadu, has blamed the withdrawal of government subvention to political parties on abuse by people in positions of authority.
This is contained in a statement signed by Ekweremadu’s Special Adviser on Media, Uche Anichukwu in Abuja on Sunday.
Anichukwu said the Deputy Senate President made this known when the Inter-Party Advisory Council of Nigeria (IPAC) visited him in his office.
"Giving subvention to political parties was the case in the past, but we had to amend the Constitution to remove that, because it was thoroughly abused by some people.
"They register a political party and wait for election. Government gives them subvention, then they put it in their pockets and make no efforts to win.
"To them, political parties are platforms for making cool money from the government."
Ekweremadu urged political parties in the country to agitate for the introduction of proportional representation to widen political representation in the legislature, which would in turn help smaller political parties to thrive.
”When this is done, instead of first-past-the-post system where a party that polls the highest number of votes, even by a single vote, takes the parliamentary seat, while the other parties go home empty-handed, no matter how well they performed.
"Parties will now be allocated parliamentary seats based on the percentage of the total votes they garnered in an election.
"That way, smaller parties will be accommodated in the parliament. They will know that they will not go empty-handed if they work hard," he added.
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