Ibadan Journal of the Social Sciences
Volume 5, No. 2, 2007
Pages 122-130
DOI: 10.36108/ijss/7002.50.0240
PDP Party Politics and the Subversion of Federalism in Nigeria
Anibrose I. Egwim
Department of Political Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University
Awka, Anambra State, Nigeria
Abstract
This paper argues that party politics and election activities affect the practice of federalism. The exit of the military from government house has not terminated their centralizing and unitarizing tendencies, which they introduced in January 1966. The explanation for this continued centralization, despite having returned to democratic rule since May, 1999, may be found in the structure and organization of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the a dominant political parry, which has enjoyed near hegemonic power since May 1999; PDP controls of 28 out of the 36 states of Nigeria, and also controlled the National Assembly with a large majority. The military dictatorship did not end with military rule; rather it was transformed into a political party (PDP), manned by a former autocratic general who was being forced into a democratic mode.
Keywords: PDP, federalism, political party, party structure, Obasanjo presidency, ANPP, AD