Political economist Kingsley Moghalu has recommended that the Federal Government should take over the funding of political parties across the country.
According to the former Deputy Governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria, government funding of political parties will mitigate corruption within the electoral system.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Friday, Professor Moghalu criticised the current delegate system used for party primaries, noting that most delegates participate for pecuniary benefits.
“One of my recommendations is that the government should fund political parties,” he said. “This was done in the time of the SDP and NRC that Babangida set up, a little to the right, a little to the left.
“And I think if you look at how much the government spends on other things – we spend N4 trillion on petrol subsidy – do you think we would need to spend N500 billion on funding political parties? It’s a policy and legislative choice. In many countries of the world, in Germany and Canada, the government funds political parties, so that what voters are deciding on are the issues, not who is giving more money.”