In his critique of the House of Representatives bill establishing the Political Parties Registration and Regulation Commission (PPRRC), Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, cautioned that the establishment of another governmental organization will simply increase Nigeria’s financial burden.
According to reports, the House Committee on Constitution Review is presently considering the bill, which is co-sponsored by Speaker Tajudeen Abbas and Marcus Onobun of the Esan Central/Esan West/Igueben Federal Constituency in Edo State.
In order to give the new commission the authority to register, regulate, and monitor political parties as well as manage their finances, internal democracy, primaries, and general operations, it would change Sections 40, 81, 84, 153, 222, 225, 226, and 228 of the Constitution if it is approved.
In an interview with The Punch, Obi criticized the proposed amendment through Tanko Yunusa, the National Coordinator of the Obidient Movement, stating that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) should be in charge of registering political parties.
“Based on the Justice Muhammad Uwais Report, we recommended the creation of an Enforcement Commission to enforce laws pertaining to legitimate elections and an Electoral Monitoring Committee to handle elections. The Delineation Commission is the third, according to Yunusa.
Yunusa said that it would be foolish to fully deprive INEC of its party registration function, emphasizing that changes ought to concentrate on addressing electoral irregularities rather than overlapping duties.
“You cannot totally deprive INEC of its authority to register and oversee political parties; that is one of its main functions,” he continued. The Enforcement Commission, which will address the problems of electoral fraud, should have been the focus of the Constitution Review Committee. By doing this, electoral malpractices will be addressed. This function can be delegated to INEC so that it can focus on party registration and election administration.
