PDP Party Politics and the Subversion of Federalism in 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.