The umbrella body of all registered political parties in Nigeria, the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) has said the year 2025 should be devoted to fighting insecurity, corruption and other challenges hindering the development of the country.

In a New Year message by the national chairman, Yusuf Mamman Dantalle, the IPAC said it was only by the grace of God that Nigerians survived the socio-economic hardship of 2024.

“It was unprecedented in the history of our dear nation. We are grateful to God for His mercies, protection and care which have reinforced our hope and faith in consolidating our democracy and building a strong, united, stable, progressive, equitable, prosperous and just society in 2025.”

He said as the umbrella body of all the registered political parties in Nigeria, IPAC would continue to lead from the front to ensure good governance and the well-being of the people.

He added that the council would vigorously pursue its Peer Review Mechanism set up to evaluate the milestones achieved by governors in the implementation of the sustainable development goals in the states, the legislators on effective, vibrant and robust representations, oversight functions and law-making, as well as monitor progress of the recent financial autonomy granted to the 774 Local Governments in the country as the government closest to the people.

“Council was at the vanguard for financial autonomy to the third tier of government as it is for the scrapping of the State Independent Electoral Commissions (SIECs) that conduct local government polls which turn out to be charades and mockery of the nation’s electoral process as various SIECs have become rubber stamps of the governors who appointed them; and demands that INEC be empowered to conduct all elections in Nigeria as it has the capacity to do so. IPAC’s comprehensive proposal for the ongoing Constitution and Electoral Act Amendments has since been submitted to the National Assembly for consideration and inclusion,” he said.

He promised that the council would also intensify its roundtable series where crucial national issues are identified, assemble competent resource persons and stakeholders to chart the way forward that will deepen our democracy.

 

He said to eliminate the fielding of candidates with questionable credentials for elections, IPAC signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Chartered Institute of Forensics and Certified Fraud Investigators (CIFCFIN) on 28th August 2024.

 

“This ensures that every document, credential, and piece of information associated with candidates is rigorously examined for authenticity and accuracy to prevent undue disqualification of candidates who won elections with fraudulent credentials by the court. Often the candidates with the second highest votes take their positions, who are not elected by the people, thus depriving the political parties that sponsored them the much needed victory. This will further sanitise and strengthen the nation’s electoral process. Council will implement it in 2025 as it continues to champion free, fair, credible, transparent, inclusive and peaceful elections,” he said.

 

Dantalle said all hands must be on deck “as we jointly rebuild trust in our democratic process by fighting corruption, ensuring political stability, credible elections, independent judiciary, vibrant economy, food security, gainful employment, living wage, social cohesion, religious harmony, quality education, healthcare, efficient power supply, adequate security and social amenities.”

 

He noted that this is in tandem with Section 14(2)(b) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999, as amended, which states that the security and welfare of the people shall be the primary purpose of government. “When governments at all levels discharge their responsibilities to citizens, the economy will bounce back, Nigeria will regain its top place in the comity of nations. This is a task that must be done in 2025,” he added.