By Eteteonline
The Armed Forces Ruling Council (AFRC) approved the registration of two political parties, namely the National Republican Convention (NRC) and Social Democratic Party (SDP).
Conceived within the ideological framework described by the government as “a little to the right,” the NRC was intended to represent conservative political tendencies, in contrast to the SDP’s “a little to the left” orientation.
The two parties created and funded by the government were designed to achieve the following objectives:
- Provide a grassroots basis for the emergence of political parties:
- Establish a grassroots or mass platform for the emergence of Leadership;
- Give equal rights and opportunities to all Nigerians to participate in the political process, irrespective of their wealth, religion, geopolitical backgrounds, and professional endeavours;
- De-emphasize the role of money in politics;
- Reduce, to a minimum level, the element of violence in our electoral process:
- Preclude the emergence of political alliances along the same lines as in the first and second republics and, therefore, give Nigerians a new political structure within which to operate;
- Ensure the emergence of a new, more dedicated and more genuine leadership cadre, which will not be a mere proxy for old political warlords:
- Chart a new pattern of political recruitment and participation which will enhance Nigeria’s stability;
- Establish strong institutional structures which will not only sustain future government, but also be strong enough to stand the test of time, and establish a political system that will be operated according to the spirit and letter of the constitution of the Federal Republic.
This step was primarily aimed at reducing ethnic and regional fragmentation that had historically plagued Nigeria’s party politics.
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