A chieftain of the People’s Democratic party in Akwa Ibom state and former Minister of Lands, Housing and Urban Development, Chief Nduese Essien, has expressed fear that major political parties in the country are on the verge of collapse.
He said the present situation with political parties is a far cry from what obtained in 1999, where elections were won on merit as the military supervised them and allowed rules and regulation systems to operate, unlike the present, where parties no longer abide by their principles but operate on the whims and caprices of their emergent owners.
Essien raised the concern in Eket Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom state when he received the governorship candidate of the New Nigeria People’s Party and former Chieftain of the All Progressives Congress, Senator John James Akpanudoedehe, who was in Eket to seek his support for the governorship in 2023.
Essien, a one-time House of Representatives member, described as sad the current situation where each party now has an owner, and the owner decides who does what, stressing that the country could not continue like that.