The immediate-past senator representing Rivers South-East Senatorial District at the National Assembly, Magnus Ngei Abe, has called for the sustenance of internal democracy in Political Parties in Nigeria.
Abe made the call while speaking during a symposium organised by the Rivers APC Visionary Media Team at the Ernest Ikoli Press Centre, Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital over the weekend.
The symposium tagged: “The Implications of Internal Democracy To The Development of Democracy In Nigeria”, was attended by chieftains of the APC in Rivers State, including the former Senator representing Rivers-West in the National Assembly, Wilson Ake.
Senator Abe reminded members of the party that supremacy of the party does not mean the supremacy of individuals in the party, but the supremacy of the rules guiding the party.
He described internal democracy as the actual foundation of democracy, pointing out that without internal democracy, political parties become tools of oppression in the hands of the leaders.
“Internal democracy is the actual foundation of democracy. Without internal democracy, political parties will become tools of oppression in the hands of political leaders.
“We need to appreciate those that proposed that the party is supreme. A lot of people do not understand what the supremacy of the party means. The way we understand the supremacy of the party in Nigeria is not the same way the people who proposed it understood it.
“It is the supremacy of the rules of the party and not the supremacy of the organs of the party or that of anybody outside the rules. The National Working Committee of the party has become the Supreme Military Council.”
