ABUJA: A former National Publicity Secretary of the Peoples Democratic Party PDP Chief Olisa Metuh, has voiced strong opposition to the traditional North-South presidential zoning arrangement, advocating instead for a system based purely on competence.
Should ethnic-based zoning be retained, he argued, it must be structured along geo-political zones to ensure equitable leadership opportunities across all six zones.
Metuh made these remarks on Thursday at the maiden international conference of the Department of Political Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka.
The theme of the conference was “Africa at Crossroads: Confronting Governance, Security and Development Challenges in the 21st Century.”
He contended that the current North-South zoning formula would not foster national development, proposing that either merit-based selection or zoning by the six geo-political zones should be adopted.
“If we are going to zone and we don’t zone to geo-political zones, I am against that. It is either we are zoning properly or we go for merit,” he stated.
Metuh also called for constitutional amendments to prohibit elected officials from defecting between political parties. He suggested exceptions only for situations where the sponsoring party has “completely collapsed, died or merged with other parties,” rather than politically engineered crises.
He lamented that the full benefits of partisan politics have barely been realized in Nigeria.
Metuh stressed that “strong institutions, especially political parties, are vital for sustainable development,” noting that weak institutions enable corruption, instability, and elite dominance.
He observed that many African countries, including Nigeria, despite adopting multi-party systems, have not achieved expected development gains due to parties lacking “depth and maturity to stabilize governance.”
Metuh recalled that since the 1980s, development theory shifted focus from large government to “good governance,” encompassing both political aspects like democracy and rule of law, and economic factors like efficiency and transparency.
He highlighted growing discontent, particularly among youth, leading to a “nostalgia for military regimes and admiration for authoritarian models.”
According to him, “history warns that military rule breeds more harm than good,” emphasizing the need to fix, not abandon, multi-party democracy.
He identified several weaknesses plaguing Nigerian political parties, including “ideological emptiness, constant defections, poor funding structures, and a lack of programmatic discipline,” which he said breed instability, distrust, and poor governance.
To address these issues, Metuh proposed several reforms.
He said; “Parties must have clear ideological frameworks to guide actions and earn voter trust. Parties should be held accountable to their campaign promises, with manifestos being binding and publicly tracked. Amend the Constitution to prohibit party-switching during a term, except in cases of mergers. Enshrine power rotation into the Constitution to reduce ethnic tension and ensure inclusion. Legalize and regulate transparent internal fundraising. Introduce performance-based public funding and cap campaign spending, enforcing disclosures. Establish an Independent Party Finance Commission to audit and sanction. Educate the public on ideology, manifestos, and political accountability to deepen civic engagement”.
Earlier, acting Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka, Prof. Carol Arinze-Umeobi, commended the Department of Political Science for organizing its inaugural international conference. She described the conference theme as highly relevant to Africa’s development challenges.
Prof. Arinze-Umeobi expressed disappointment that decades after independence, most African countries remain “mired in underdevelopment,” grappling with “security challenges of armed conflicts…resurgent Jihadist movements, secessionist movements and electoral fraud, leading to bad government and bad governance.”
She also lamented the political class’s continued exploitation of “religious and ethnic identities in their political contestations to remain in power,” along with the resurgence of coups and military governments.
The Professor of Law questioned whether colonial masters could still be solely blamed for the current state of affairs.
She also stressed the critical challenge of conscientizing citizens to take control of their destinies and hold governments accountable, as this is the only path to the continent’s development.
