By Sodiq Adelakun
Laolu Akande, former spokesman to ex–Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, has accused former President Olusegun Obasanjo of laying the foundation for the erosion of party politics in Nigeria.
He alleged that Obasanjo introduced a system where the Presidency was used to weaken political parties and their structures.
Akande made the claim during an interview on Channels Television’s Inside Sources, where he said the decline in Nigeria’s party system could be traced to Obasanjo’s tenure as civilian president beginning in 1999.
According to him, political parties before that period were stronger and exercised significant authority over both candidates and elected presidents.
He explained that during the Second and Third Republics, parties such as the SDP and NRC had national leaders who wielded influence and could challenge presidential authority. Akande argued that this balance changed under Obasanjo, who allegedly subordinated party structures to the power of the presidency.
Citing historical examples, Akande recalled how former PDP National Chairman, Chief Audu Ogbeh, once challenged Obasanjo by insisting on respect for his office as party chairman. He questioned whether any party chairman in today’s political climate could assert such independence.
Akande further claimed that Obasanjo sidelined Solomon Lar, the founding chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party, shortly after the party was formed in 1999.
He said the former president went on to exert excessive influence over the selection of gubernatorial and presidential candidates, a move he described as damaging to internal party democracy.
According to Akande, whether intentionally or not, Obasanjo’s actions fundamentally altered Nigeria’s political culture and weakened party politics, a trend whose effects are still evident in the country’s democratic process today.
