1 UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA FACULTY OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES, DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT PRIVATE FUNDING OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 2001–2010 PROJECT REPORT PRESENTED TO THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT, IN FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE AWARD OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION AND LOCAL GOVERNMENT DEGREE, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. BY IWUNDU, IFEAYICHUKWU EMMANUEL PG/M.Sc/09/52122 SUPERVISOR: DR. B A AMUJIRI JULY 2012 2 TITLE PAGE PRIVATE FUNDING OF POLITICAL PARTIES IN NIGERIA: IMPLICATIONS TO NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, 2001–2010 3 CERTIFICATION IWUNDU, Ifeanyichukwu Emmanuel, a postgraduate student in the Department of Public Administration and Local Government with Registration No. PG/M.Sc/09/52122 has satisfactorily completed the requirements for the course and research work for the award of Master of Public Administration and Local Government. The work embodied in this dissertation report is original and has not been submit- ted in part or full for any diploma or degree of this or any other university. Dr. B. A. Amujiri Professor Fab. Onah Supervisor Head of Department Professor C. O.T. Ugwu Professor P. E. Chigbu Dean, Dean, SPGS. Faculty of the Social. Sciences. External examiner 4 DEDICATION This work is dedicated to the Almighty and Merciful God, who through these years made something out of nothing in me. 5 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT. I hereby appreciate all those who contributed in making this academic programme a reali- ty. They are my supervisor, Dr. B.A. Amujiri who had patient with me in spite of his busy schedules. He critically went through my work and made necessary corrections. The head of department, Prof. Fab. Onah and lecturers in the department: Prof. N.N Elekwe, Prof. (Mrs.) R. C. Onah, , Prof. F. C. Okoli, Prof. C. Ofuebe, Dr. Tony Onyishi, Prof. (Mrs.) Ogonu, Dr. (Mrs.) Obi, Dr. Agalamanyi, Dr. (Mrs.) S.U. Agu etc. made the programme possible. May God bless you all, Amen. I also appreciate my beloved wife and friend, Engr. (Mrs.) Nkiruka E. Iwundu, and Children Ebubechukwu Mercy, Chibueze Ifeanyi Emmanuel (Jr.), Amarachukwu Aka- chukwu and Mmesoma for their patience, encouragement and endearing love. The bibliography attests to my general indebtedness to the work of many scholars. And to my God, who is rich in mercy and loving-kindness, be the glory forever and ever, Amen. IWUNDU, Ifeanyichukwu, Emmanuel PG/M.Sc/09/52122 6 ABSTRACT The study examined the implications of private funding of political parties to national development in Nigeria, 2001-2010. The specific objectives of the study were to: (i) as certain the rationale for private funding of political parties, (ii) determine the sources of funds to political parties, (iii) identify the level of electoral fraud/rigging that occurs to ensure that private funders of political parties do not lose, (iv) verify the implications of private funding of political parties to national development and (v) determine the solutions to private funding of political parties in Nigeria. The study was a survey, carried out in Imo State. There were 27 Local Government Areas with a population of over 4.8 million. A simple random sampling method was applied to selecting 15 local governments and 300 respondents. Data was gathered through primary and secondary sources. The primary sources include questionnaire and interview, while secondary source were books, journal, newspapers, magazine, etc. data was analysed using the statistical package for social science to determine the percentage and mean sources. The study found that private funding of political parties was an arrangement for members of a political party to help fund her activities and reduce the dependency of parties on government. The source of funds to political parties were found to include sponsorship by influential individuals of the party, membership dues, government grants to political parties, levy from office holders/elected members of the party and fund raising dinners by members. It found that the fraud and rigging that occurred in private funding of political parties includes soliciting for the co-operation of electoral officers both at the polling booths up to the resident electoral commissioners for fraud/rigging, multiple registrations of candidates for elections, stuffing of ballot boxes before its arrival at the polling booths, inducement of voters prior to voting day, intimidation of political opponents with thugs, police, army and personal guards. The study also found that the implications of private funding includes sheepish implementation of policies that do not benefit the public but the funders, thereby making the state/national legislature less representative and less responsive, the funds allocated for development are fought for and disbursed on the basis of what was contributed by funders and self enrichment, etc. To solve the problem, the study recommended that persons wishing to run for a political office should be credible, propriety, be in good financial disposition and management, all sources of funds and the intensions of the funders should be disclosed, law should be made for equal amount to be contributed by all the members of a political party to avoid some wealthy individuals hijacking the party. 7 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page i Certification ii Dedication iii Acknowledgement iv Abstract v Table of Contents. vi List of Tables vii Chapter One: Introduction 1 1.1 Background to the Study 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem 6 1.3 Objectives of the Study 9 1.4 Significance of the Study 10 1.5 Scope and Limitations of the Study 10 Chapter Two: Literature Review and Methodology 12 2.1 Literature Review 12 2.1.1Conceptual Clarification 12 8 vii 2.1.2 The rationale for private funding of political parties. 16 2.1.3 The Sources of funding to political parties. 18 2.1.4 The level of electoral fraud/rigging that occurs private funding. 19 2.1.5 The implications of private funding to national development 25 2.1.6 The solutions to the problems of private funding of political Parties. 32 2.1.7 Synthesis of the Review and Gap in Existing Literature 35 2.2 Hypotheses 36 2.3 Operationalisation of key concepts 36 2.4 Methodology 37 2.4.1 Research Design 37 2.4.2 Area of the Study 38 2.4.3 Sources of Data 38 2.4.4 Population of the Study 39 2.4.5 Sample Size 39 2.4.6 Sample Procedure 40 2.4.7 Validity and Reliability of Instrument 40 2.4.8 Method of Data Analysis 41 viii 9 2.4.9 Theoretical Framework 41 Chapter Three: Background Information of the Study Area 45 3.1 Background Information of the case study area 45 Chapter Four: Data Presentation, Findings and Discussion of Findings 50 4.1 Data Presentation 50 4.2 Findings of the Study 60 4.3 Discussion of Findings 65 Chapter Five: Summary, Conclusion and Recommendations 71 5.1 Summary 71 5.2 Recommendations 74 5.3 Conclusion 76 Bibliography 79 Appendices 83 10 LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Twenty-Seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) in Imo State 39 Table 2: Sample Size of the Study 40 Table 3: Twenty-Seven Local Government Areas (LGAs) of Imo State 45 Table 4: Respondents Sex 50 Table 5: Respondents Marital Status 50 Table 6: Respondents Occupation 51 Table 7: Respondents Highest Academic Qualification 51 Table 8: Respondents Length of Residence in Imo State 51 Table 9: Respondents Knowledge of Electoral Democracy in Imo State 53 Table 10: Rationale for the Private Funding of Political Parties 53 Table 11: The Sources of Fund to Political Parties 54 Table 12: Fraud and Rigging that Occur in Private Funding of Political Parties 54 11 Table 13: The Implications of Private Funding to the Development of Imo State and the nation at large 55 Table 14: The Solutions to the Problems of Private Funding of Political Parties 58 12 CHAPTER ONE INTRODUCTION 1.1 Background to the study In most countries of the world, there is reliance on private funding of political parties for their campaigns and other party activities. A political party is an organization that typically seeks to influence government policy, usually by nominating their own candidates and trying to seat them in political office, (Jones, 2009:34). Fund is crucial in the management of any political parties, if they are to achieve their objective. Fund is sourced from different areas, and the management of such resources is important for the good of that organization. The electoral law and policies of any nations spells out the mode and sources of funding to political parties. Political parties are funded by contributions from party members, individuals and organizations which share their political ideas or who stand to benefit from their activities or governmental public funding, (Wikipedia, 2010:1). Many parties in Africa impose a compulsory levy, usually a percentage of salary, on party functionaries and occupants of certain positions of state, such as members of parliament and ambassadors, (Saffu, 2002:3). Another source of private funding for political parties, which several legislations on the continent specifically mention as permitted according to Saffu,(2002:3), “Is fund raising activities, from fund raising dinners and dances and auctions to running companies and owning properties for letting”. Funding can also be provided by foreign aid. International donors provide funds to political parties in developing countries as a means to promote democracy and good governance. Support can be purely financial or otherwise frequently is provided as capacity development activities including the development of party manifestos, party constitutions and campaigning skills, (Wikipedia, 2010). Developing links between ideologically linked parties is another common feature of international support for a party, (ACEPROJECT.ORG, 2010:3).