46 INTERNAL DEMOCRACY AND ELECTIONS IN NIGERIA: THE PEOPLES DEMOCRACTIC PARTY (PDP) IN PERSPECTIVE Enodien, Tommy Enodienetuk, Ph.D. Department of Political and Administrative Studies, University of Port Harcourt. tenodien@yahoo.com DOI: 10.13140/RG.2.2.10003.90409 Abstract This study set out to examine internal democracy and elections in Nigeria with reference to the People's Democratic Party (PDP) (1998-2015). Election is an integral element of the democratic process. In other words, the growth of democracy in any country is measure by the conduct of elections. For elections to yield the desire result there is needs to adhere to stipulated laws. Internal democracy therefore is the basis of free, fair and credible elections. When the process that produced elected official lack credibility and transparency, it has grave implication for democratic consolidation. The theoretical framework adopted for the study was the elite theory propounded by Robert Michel, Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto in the 1890s. Secondary source of data was utilized for the study. It involves the collection of data from textbooks, magazines and conference papers amongst others. The study finds out that since 1998 following the formation of the PDP, that the Party had dominated the Nigeria political scene especially at the federal level. The Party dominated the presidency for sixteen years. However, her dominance on the Nigeria political scene was terminated following the outcome of the 2015 general elections in which the Party lost not only the presidency but also most States she had earlier control. The study recommends that there should be a regular convening of PDP national executive meetings of elective and non- elective conventions as stipulated in the PDP constitutions, were serious undemocratic issues that threatened the Party are address. Keywords: Internal Democracy, Election, Vote, PDP, Nigeria Introduction Democracy as a concept is derived from two Greek words “demos” which implies people and “kratien” which implies rule. Simplistically define therefore, it implies rule by the people. This essentially presupposes that governments derive their existence from the will of the generality of the people. In the view of Nna (2004) democracy is perhaps the most cherished form of government; this is evident in the increasing number of states in the world which claim to be democratic and the number of people which aspire for it. Almost every form of government in the world now claim to be democratic even the brutal, oppressive and unjust wishes to justify it actions on democratic ground. Every ruling class or circle claim to be practicing democracy which most of them define to suit their interest. But democracy as a system of government usually involving freedom of individual in various aspects of political life, equality among citizens, justice in the relation between the people and government, and the participation of the people in choosing their representatives. It is difficult for modern societies to operate democracy without political parties. Political party is the oil wheel of democracy. For political party to contribute to democratic consolidation there is need for internal democracy. Political parties ought to be democratic institutions themselves. Only by being democratic can the will of the majority of their members prevail, including, among other things, the choice of parties, their internal governance structure, the choice of their leaders and the choice of their candidates in elections in which they wish to participate. It is only IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 47 when political party is democratic that it can protect the rights and privileges of the minority of its members whose view at any point may not prevail. The first political party in Nigeria was established in 1923 (Nigeria National Democratic Party). There has been the emergence of other political parties since 1923. The focus of this study is on the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Since 1998 when the PDP was established, it has held on to political power from 1999 -2015 at the federal level. The lack of internal democracy that define the activities of the People's Democratic Party (PDP); imposition and godfatherism etc has posed consequences for accountability, good governance and the quality of Nigeria's democracy. It is on the basis of these that this study seeks to examine internal democracy and elections with reference to the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Statement of the Problem Democratic values, principles and norms cannot thrive in an atmosphere of imposition of candidates on the electorates by political elites (godfatherism). This has been the usual practice among political parties in Nigeria and especially the People's Democratic Party (PDP). Party constitution and order electoral guidelines are subverted by political elites (godfather) in most cases to favor their preferred candidates. This has made the electioneering process rancorous due to the fact that there was no level playing ground for all aspirants to compete. The outcome of such electioneering process is the emergence of unpopular and incompetent candidates that lack ideas about the developmental challenges and yearning of the people. In most cases, candidates that are popular but are not in the good book of the political elites (godfathers), have either boycotted the electioneering process or refuse to accept the outcome of the process. It was in realization of the lack of due process in electing party candidates that prompted Nwodo to assert that “we sought to restore the image of our party, because the image of our dear party, the largest political party in Africa (PDP), has been grossly eroded due to strife, imposition of candidates, godfatherism, money bag politics, injustice, and lack of understanding of our party manifesto. As the ruling party, if we get it right, Nigeria we get it right” (Nwodo 2010: 09). The protest vote that ousted the sixteen year reign of PDP at the national level in the 2015 general elections has been attributed to the lack of internal democracy within the party and the failure of the party to alleviate the suffering of the Nigeria's populace. Objectives of the Study The objectives of the study are to: i. Analyze internal democracy in the People's Democratic Party (PDP). ii. Investigate the factors militating against internal democracy in the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Theoretical Framework The theoretical framework adopted for this study is the elite theory. The theory posits that power in the state or any organization is exercised by a limited number of individuals or groups referred to as elites. The theory was propounded by Robert Michel, Gaetano Mosca and Vilfredo Pareto. In the view of Michel (1915: 32), “the ultimate fate of all organization is to be run by a small minority or plural elites”. In the view of Mosca (1939: 67) “human societies is divided into two major classes of people namely, the ruler and the ruled. The ruling class is a minority group who IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 48 monopolized power and enjoys the advantages that accrues from it. The ruled class (masses), on the other hand constitute the majority group but are directed and left in the hands of subsistence by the ruling class”. Mosca (1939: 68) went further to assert that, “power is always in the hands of an organized minority who has the authority and power over the majority by virtue of certain characteristics such as consensus on the basis of forms, cohesiveness and consciousness”. A situation described as the iron law of oligarchy. Elite theory therefore view society as closed, pyramidal, unresponsive and composed of the few who rule and the many who are ruled. The dominant argument is that the large mass of the people are ignoble, not cohesive and not organized and so are not competent or capable to exercise political power. Thus, political power is entrusted to elite who are cohesive, organized and so competent or capable to exercise political power. This made Ntete (2004 cited in Strickland et al 1964) to emphasized that in the view of elite theories, authentic power resides in the hands of a very few people who occupy the leading positions in the corporation, the profession, the military and the executive branch of government. According to Perry and Perry (2003: 45), elitism is a theory “which upholds that wealth, power, influence and prestige are held by a small number of individuals or groups who have achieved a higher degree of excellence in there endeavours”. Elite theorist maintained that the consensus that supposedly exists in the society is in reality, established by the elites who are able to manipulate the masses through the mass-media. The theory also asserts the existence of multitude interest groups whose interactions do not result in the diffusion of power. Here, society consists of few who have power (elite) and the many that do not (masses). The elite's holds key positions in the society such as those in the economy, military, politics, religion, education among other professions. The elite differ from the masses because they derived their value from their upper socio-economic class origin. Members share a common lifestyle and identify with others of the same background. Relating and applying the elite theory in understanding internal democracy in the PDP, it becomes imperatives to state that the excessive ambition of the elite to serve their personal gain and interest at the expense of those of the masses has led to the imposition of their cronies on the masses. In most cases, positions of authority are used as reward to unpopular but loyal candidates by their godfather. There is therefore a synergy between local and national elites. National elites rely on local elites to win elections (to help deliver their wards and units) while national elites in return reward local elites by imposing them to man local institutions and position of authority (such as local Government chairmen, councilors and State Governor). Methodology The historical deign was adopted for the study. The secondary source of data was utilized. Secondary source of data refer to the set of data collated or authored by another person, archives, in the form of documents collected for a purpose other than the present one in which it is being used (Asika, 2006). Selltiz et al (2008), has declared that the usefulness of secondary sources of data lies in the fact that information of this sort is collected periodically. Also, gathering of information from such sources does not require the cooperation or assistance of the individual about whom information is being sought. The sources of data for this study includes: internet, magazines, textbooks, journals etc. Literature Review The Concept of Elections Elections is an important element of modern representative government; it is so closely tied to IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 49 the growth and development of democratic political order that it is now generally held to be the single most important indicator of the presence or absence of democratic government. According to the International Encyclopedia of Social sciences (1999: 34), election is defined “as a form of procedure, recognized where by some members of the organization choose a smaller number of persons or person to hold positions of authority in an organization”. This procedure or manner of choice usually involves rules and regulations designed to ensure a certain degree of fairness and justice to all concerned, it also implies that elections is not used only for electing governmental officials. Austin (1966: 76), noted that “to make a ballot paper and drop it in a ballot box is not election unless a winner emerges. He further buttress that a choice is not a vote in an election unless the chosen candidate conforms to the specified legal procedure”. Other scholars like Ball (1973: 78 ), defined elections as the “means by which the people choose and exercise some degree and control over their representations”. Elections in effect are primarily a means of legitimizing the right of the ruler to govern. Elections are important for the sustenance, stability and development of democracy. Elections are intended to fill the hierarchy of public offices. In fact, it could be argued that state elections are effective only were electoral procedure is regarded as a usual procedure throughout the society and it is therefore written into the rules of all sort of non -public organization such as business companies, trade unions, churches, sports and so on. Sills (1972: 87), Defined elections as “an institutionalized procedure for choosing office holders by some or the entire recognized member of an organization.” Concept of Democracy Democracy is a set of ideas and a system of government that possess Characteristics of a government created by a genuine consent of these people: the government must uphold the principles of the rule of law and the government also exists for the people. In other words, it must be responsive to the duties it owes the citizenry as a government. Hence Appadorai (1968: 96), posits that “democracy is the governing power exercise either directly or indirectly through representatives, periodically elected by the electorates.” Furthermore, the concept of democracy was made clearer by Robert Dahl` in some of his contributions to democratic politics, where he decided in some method to state the concept of “polyarchy'' in the position of democracy. Modern democratic form of government has been practice through representative government because of large population and the size of modern states which has become too large for all the citizens to assemble. Representative form of democracy is the form of government in which those who governed are representative of the people. Although, there appears to be a universal appeal for democracy as against other forms of government, there appear also to be no universal standard for it application, thus, there is the liberal, socialist and even the African conceptualization of democracy. There are universal democratic principles, popularly refers to as the features of democracy. As gleaned from Alapiki (2010:59), they are. 1. The presence of universal adult suffrage: this is the provision granting all adult members of a state, the right to vote and be voted for. 2. Periodic elections: there should be free and fair elections whereby the electorates choose their representative and the government is made accountable to the people. 3. Fundamental human rights: the relevant rights include rights to life, freedom of movement and association, freedom of speech and religion, freedom from arbitrary arrest. The mass medical-radio, newspapers and television should be free. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 50 4. Independence of the judiciary: the judiciary should be independent so as to protect the rights of the citizens in the state. This is an aspect of separation of power in government and the rule of low. Concept of Internal Democracy Political parties are institutions that are carriers of democratic principles in any organized society. Thus, there are a number of institutional guarantees that parties have to fulfill if they were to effectively meet what is expected of them in a democracy. According to Scarow (2004: 88), internal democracy “is a very broad term describing a wide range of methods for including party members in intra-party deliberation and decision making”. It is democracy within the party and the extent to which a party subscribes to and abides by the basic and universal democratic tenets. As Tyoden (1994: 23) argues, “hardly is a political system adjudged democratic without the central placement of political parties in its political process”. As Ihonvobere (2004:99) posits, “political parties in Nigeria, seek political power for the purpose of protecting the territorial integrity of Nigeria and promoting the security, safety, welfare of all Nigerians, to promote and establish resilience of the party system and by extension the fate of democracy and the nature of the political system itself”. In the same vein, Mersel (2006: 66), asserts that “various democracies in recent times have faced the problem of non- democratic political parties, a situation where most parties only focus on external activities, neglecting internal planning an organization”. Mersel (2006: 67) further maintained that “in determining whether a political party is democratic, attention should be given to party's goals and practices. This is because some parties often ignore essential elements such as their internal structures”. The idea is that parties must be democratic not only externally in their operations, but also internally in the organizational functions. The interplay between parties and democracies should reflect the party's adherence not only to democratic goals and actions but also to internal democratic structures (Mersel, 2006). Results And Discussions An Assessment of Internal Democracy in People's Democratic Party (PDP) The Manifesto of the People's Democratic Party (PDP) has one edition since it was established in August 1998. The original edition of the manifesto is a twenty eight (28) pages booklet with thirty one (31) provisions covering the following issues: Resolution on party formation, Political objectives of the party, Indivisibility of the Nigeria polity, The judiciary and the administration of justice, Economy, Agriculture, Rural development, Industrialization, Health, Education, Science and Technology, Defense, Transport, Communication, Internal Security, Energy, Water Supply, Labour Employment and Wages, Natural Resources, Iron and Steel, Youth and Sports, Nigerian Culture, Women, Human Rights, Environmental Obligations, Civil Service, Traditional Rulers, Housing, Tourism, Land, and Foreign Policy. The manifesto spells out the mission statement of the party, (including the structure, organization and mechanism for electing its members.) its programs and how the party plans to carry out such programs. The Manifesto is prefaced by a preamble which laments the chequered political history of the country. The preamble is followed by the resolution on party formation passed at the Sheraton Hotel Abuja on Wednesday August 19th 1998. The section on the direct Principles and Mission Statement of the Party makes a strong assurance to the people of Nigeria about the party's commitment to democracy and Party politics. The statement read “We of the People's IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 51 Democratic Party affirm our belief in the supremacy of the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the sovereignty of the Nigerian people. Having examined the relevant provisions of the constitution of Nigeria, we hereby affirm our commitment to strict observance and enforcement to the provisions. As a political party, we shall conform to the spirit and the letter of the Provisions of the Manifesto” (PDP constitution, 1999 as amended). A review of the PDP manifesto reveal that the inability of the party to fulfill its manifesto to the Nigerian populace was due to non- adherence to internal Party processes (Party rules and regulations as it pertain elections of party candidates). There was highhandedness and impunity among the party leadership. Beginning from 1999 general elections, the activities of the Party was a zero-sum game as winner takes it all. The President and Governors where in charge of the affairs of the Party structure, they dictate who gets what when and how. According to Olaniyan, (2009: 71) “once the President or Governor is in control of the political structure, his political kingdom is assured smooth sail or less turbulence in the shark infested and muddy waters of Nigerian politics”. Olaniyan, (2009: 72), went further to state that “the control of the Party structure leverages the position of the Governor or the President in many ways; the most important being that during the Party primaries, members of the Executive Committee at the Ward and Local Government Levels are members of the congress for the election of the chairman in a local government election. For the State congress, the nomination of the Governorship candidate of the party consist of delegates of all the wards Chairmen, Secretaries, the three-man delegates, local government chairmen, vice chairmen, secretaries, youth leaders, woman Leaders and the organizing secretaries are all statutory delegates. So, it is the electoral value of these party officials during primaries that make the control of the Party structure from the ward to the national levels a prized asset in the electoral fortune of the political party. However, in the control of the party structure, the Governor or the President remains impregnable except there arises a force of greater or equal control of resources (money and goodwill from the presidency or high echelon of the party) and in that case, a challenge could be sustained against his interest. It was the rise of some forces and the control of resources equal or greater to that of the various Governors or Senators and others that gave rise to the electoral misfortunes of some of the Governors, Senators and so on which created the impression of change in the electoral culture of the parties. After the National Party Executive of the PDP and Governors had given the president automatic ticket, the presidency and the national Party office had presumably conceded to second term Governors the right to nominate their successors and the added right to aspire to the position of a Senator for others, the Governors went home celebrating (this has been the usual tradition since the inception of the Party in 1999). Governors become dictators in their various States but this assurance from the presidency and the national Party office literally elevated them to the status of emperors whose words were laws and so some discountenanced any form of consultations or advice from stakeholders on the choice of candidates to succeed them and other positions. In their respective States they were used to running roughshod on their hapless Party members and they hardly listen to anybody in terms of advice or consultations in the management of the Party (Rourke, 2010). Meanwhile, it has to be noted that the successes of the winners of the various PDP primaries were sometimes not as a result of any credible, free and fair contest where the candidates were afforded equal opportunities for instant, during the 2007 PDP Presidential primaries held in eagle square IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 52 we notice that Umaru Yaradua who was a late comer for the contest and unpopular candidate, clinch the ticket against the likes of Peter Odili, Rochas Okorocha among others who were popular in the race for the ticket. Nothing as such happened from 1999-2015. What usually transpired was that during the filing of nomination forms for the election of the various delegates to the Party congresses and convention, each faction prepared a list of its own delegates and obtains forms for them. At, the end it is the list accepted and validated by the national party office that wins. So, once your list of delegates is not accepted by the national office of the Party you are as good as a loser. What remained for you was to make as much noise as possible and perhaps explore the avenue of utilizing the various judicial remedies such as injunction or declaration to harass the Party and your opponent (Tenuche, 2014). For instance, before the 2015 general elections, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) had said that it only printed one form for the presidential post, meant for the then incumbent president Goodluck Jonathan. Expectedly, some members of the Party, who also wanted to contest the presidential election, threatened to head to court to challenge the Party's stance and this manifested during the primary election as he was endorsed as a consensus candidate (Tenuche, 2014). The outcome of the action of the national leadership to shut out other aspirants from the presidential race made some Governors and other bigwig of the Party to defect to other Party citing the lack of adherence to due process in the Party. This invariably led to the abysmal failure and performance of the Party at the 2015 general elections. This scenario also played out in many States where the Party primary where manipulated to favor certain individuals (most preferred candidates) without recourse to due process (internal democracy). Factors Militating against Internal Democracy in the People's Democratic Party (PDP) Opinion diverged among scholars as well as politicians on abysmal performance of the PDP in the 2015 general elections. Scholar such as Jarnadu (206:12) attributes the factors militating against the PDP to internal wrangling in PDP and stated that it was responsible for its failure in the 2015 general elections. Some other factors identified by him includes: Party ideological foundation, candidate selection problem, zoning formula, money politics, powerful influence of political elite and incumbency factor. These factors are critically examined below: Poverty of Party Ideology: Ideology is one ingredient that consolidates and defines any Political Party. It is like a superstructure upon which every other thing is built on. Party ideology precedes Party structure, manifesto, and organization. By Party ideology, we mean a set or body of ideas, representations and beliefs common to a specific social group. The question is what is the ideology of the People's Democratic Party? Is the party progressive, conservative, leftist, rightist, reactionary, revolutionary? Although the Party (PDP) has claimed to be rightist on paper, but this has not significantly reflected in its programs and policies. Until this is addressed, the problem of internal democracy will persist in the PDP and other political Parties in Nigeria. In tandem to the above argument, Tenuche (2014: 31) noted that, “poverty of ideology, the idiosyncratic character of executives, godfatherism, improper conduct of primaries, e.t.c were the critical issues as well as factors responsible for the current internal wrangling in People's Democratic Party (PDP) in Nigeria's fourth republic”. Similarly, Anthonia (2014: 8) observed that, “the problem of PDP today has to do with the Party's constitutional defects, imposition of candidates on members, lack of political ideology, godfatherism as well as the conduct of faulty primaries”. These according to them were the features of most Nigerian political Parties today. Candidate Selection: The question is who selects the Party members that desire to contest in an election? What are the laid down processes for selecting a candidate in a Party? Is the selection IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 53 based on their credentials and loyalties to the Party or based on their deep pockets (money in their wallet) or popularity of their godfathers? As Scarrow (2005: 18) noted, “recruiting and selecting candidates is a crucial task for Parties, because a Party profiles during elections and while in office, are largely determined by which candidates are chosen and where their loyalties lie”. Whichever procedure is adopted, it is the responsibility of the Party to decide who is eligible to contest or participate in the election. The assumption is that selection should be based on good standing of members. In other words, selection of candidates should be devoid of prejudice, class and ethnic chauvinism. Anyaoku (2010: 45) argues that “to ascribe undue influence, especially self-serving influence to the parliamentary group of the Party in the selection of candidates would seriously undermine the democratic process”. This is a serious problem in PDP. Candidates on the platform of PDP are in most cases been hand-picked by their godfather rather than emerging through free, fair and credible democratic process as stated in the Party constitution. Haruna (2007: p.23) made a comprehensive study of Peoples Democratic Party and democratization process in Nigeria where he observed that “the Party has grappled with the problem of conducting free and fair intra-party elections which according to him is one of the hallmarks of democracy”. Haruna (2000: 237), further stated that “the primary elections of December 1998/1999 were plagued with much contention that the party lost in a number of States as a result of frauds that were perpetuated. For example, the loss of Governorship position in Jigawa, Kebbi, Zamfara and Kogi States for the Party was directly attributable to the contentious conduct of the governorship primaries in those States as well as the inability of the national leadership of the Party to mediate and bring about harmony”. Table that shows the names of States control by PDP at various times since her formation in 1998. IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya S/N STATES CONTROL BY PDP PERIOD NUMBER NATIONAL ASSEMBLY 1 Abia, Adamawa, Akwa Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa Benul, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kanu, Katsina, Nasarawa, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba 1999 Elections 21 Senate (59) and house of representative (206) 2 Abia, Adamawa, Akwa -Ibom, Anambra, Bauchi, Bayelsa, Benue, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Edo, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Katsina, Nasarawa, Niger, Ogun, Ondo, Osun , Oyo, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba 2003 Election 27 Senate (76) and house of representative (223 ) 3 Akwa -Ibom, Bauchi, Benul, Bayelsa, Corss -River, Delta, Edo, Ebonyi, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Bornu 2007 General Elections 28 Senate (85) seats, and house of representative (260) seat 4 Abia, Akwa -Ibom, Bauchi, Benue, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Edo, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Imo, Kaduna, Kano, Katsina, Nasarawa, Ekiti, Niger, Plateau, Rivers, Taraba, Adamawa, Gombe, Bornu 2011 General elections 24 Senate (51) seats, and house of representative (241) 5 Abia, Akwa -Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, Delta, Ebonyi, Ekiti, Enugu, Gombe, Rivers, Taraba 2015 General Election 11 Senate (43) seats and house of representative (145) seats. 54 Source: Mempen (2016). Party Funding: What makes any political party solid is funding, that is, the amount of financial backing it enjoys from members. That is why most times founders of political Parties are more interested in attracting members who have economic power than those who have the intellectual capital. This buttresses Marx's argument on the 'materialist conception of history: that it is the economy (economic power) that serves as the foundation upon which is erected the superstructure of culture, law and government. Similarly, Mills (1956), in his famous work, 'The Power Elites' argues that “political power resides in the controlling positions of powerful institutions. The means of exercising power in any institution or social groups are narrowly concentrated in a few hands. He puts it thus: They rule the big corporations; they run the machinery of the State, Political Parties and claim its prerogatives. They direct the military establishment and occupy the strategic command posts of the social structure in which are now centered the effective means of the power and the wealth and celebrity which they enjoy. To be celebrated, to be wealthy, to be in power requires access to major institutions, for the institutional positions men occupy determines in large part their chances to have and to hold valued experience (Mills, 1956). As Griner and Zovatto (2005) advance that money and democracy have a complex relationship, especially since the affluent role of private money in politics can have many distorting effects such as, corruption, buying of votes and clientelis. When a party is well funded, it may be able to achieve a lot of things. But the financiers usually have some strings attached to it. In 2002, preparatory to the 2003 general elections, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) campaign team organized a launching to boost the campaign. This attracted a wide range of technocrats, captains of industries, political elites and bureaucrats. In that event, over six billion naira was realized. While some of the donors are key political actors and members of the PDP, others are not, but well connected to the presidency and the Party. The Party at the end of the day usually compensates or rewards such donors with contracts and political appointments. Drawing on Anambra State chapter of PDP, Chief Emeka Offor and Chris Uba, between 1999 and 2006 made the State ungovernable simply because they were one of the outstanding financiers of PDP. To be specific, between 1999 and 2003, Chief Emeka Offor not only tormented Dr. Chinwoke Mbadinuju, then Governor of Anambra State but also dominated the running of the affairs of the State because he was his godfather and need to be rewarded. It was a similar case between 2003 and 2005 when Dr. Chris Ngige was the Governor of Anambra State. Chris Uba attempted to colonize the State on the ground that he single-handedly sponsored Ngige's candidacy. The climax of the ugly scenario was the abduction of the Governor in July 2003 by a group of hired police team. Interestingly, the then ruling Party-PDP did not bother either to carry out any investigation or any disciplinary actions. Instead, the Governor was abashed, taunted and made to leave the Party with ignominy. This, it may not be out of place to infer that Peoples Democratic Party has been perhaps, inadvertently hijacked by political machines, kleptocrats and plutocrats. Findings Based on the data presented, the following findings are made: i. It was observed in the course of the study that one of the reasons behind PDP failure was due to the absence of internal democracy that characterized the Party. The imposition of candidates as Party flag bearer during primaries elections was the bane of the Party. ii. It was also observed in the course of the study that the emerging Party stalwart (political elites) of the PDP had deviated from the vision of the founding father which lay emphasis on the people IGWEBUIKE: An African Journal of Arts and Humanities. Vol. 10. No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya 55 as the most significant instrument of the Party. It was believed that the founding father had conceived power to belong to the people and not a single individual or groups of individuals. The outcome of the 2015 general elections was a reflection of a clear deviation from the principles of the Party (emphasis on internal democracy). Conclusion This study essentially examined some of the hindrances to internal democracy in Nigeria's political Parties especially in the People's Democratic Party. These include, non-observance of the code of conduct document which all the political Parties assented to and endorsed to guide their conduct and performance particularly during elections, the non-transparent system of choosing candidates in primary elections as well as conducting elections into elective positions of the Party (Party congresses: national, State, Local and ward congress) and the executive arrogance within the party (PDP) which have not only the party apart but also occasioned the decampment of many Party stalwarts. This undemocratic tendency is not peculiar to the PDP alone as it is a major feature of most political Parties in Nigeria. To check some of these undemocratic attitudes and behavior in Nigeria's political Parties,(especially in the PDP),the study adopts some recommendations made by International Organization for Sustainable Development (OSD) which are contained in a communiqué issued at the end of a national workshop on Enhancing Internal Democracy of political Parties in Africa: Recommendations Base on the findings, the following recommendations are made: i. There should be a regular convening of PDP National Executive meetings of elective and non- elective conventions as stipulated in the PDP constitutions, were serious undemocratic issues that threatened the Party are address. ii. There should be observance of Party financial guidelines, internal dispute resolution mechanisms, transparency in Party financial administration, and conclusive Party primaries References Alan, B.(1973). Modern politics and government. Mac Macillian press. Alapiki, H. (2010). 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No. 4, (2024) ISSN: 2488- 9210 (Print) 2504-9038 (Online) Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, Tansian University, Umunya